Soccer Football - UEFA Champions League - Round of 16 - First Leg - Atletico Madrid v Tottenham Hotspur - Riyadh Air Metropolitano, Madrid, Spain - March 10, 2026 Tottenham Hotspur interim manager Igor Tudor Action Images via Reuters/Matthew Childs

'You can cry or you can fight': Tudor urges struggling Spurs to rise to the challenge

13 Mar 2026, 15:24 · CNA · Join

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March 13 : Tottenham Hotspur manager Igor Tudor on Friday delivered a rallying cry to his struggling side, telling them they must fight as the club face the almost unthinkable prospect of Premier League relegation.

Spurs were dealt a 5-2 thrashing by Atletico Madrid in their Champions League last-16 first-leg tie on Tuesday and have also been eliminated from the FA Cup and League Cup.

They were last relegated from the top flight in 1977, but are in real danger of the drop as they sit in 16th place in the standings, a point above Nottingham Forest and West Ham United.

"It's been tough, for sure. Not just because of the last game but also the period. It's not an easy situation or moment. It's a big challenge to change things," Croat Tudor told reporters ahead of the trip to Liverpool on Sunday.

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"Like everything in life, you can choose how you see the situation. You can cry or you can fight. You can be the victim or you can change something. This is the message I want to communicate to the players.

"The bottle is either half full or half empty. Here there is nothing full. There are a lot of empty things, but difficult moments don't last ... It will pass and I believe the players will take this as a challenge and an opportunity."

INJURIES PILE UP

The north London club have not won a Premier League game since they beat Crystal Palace on December 28 and will be desperate for victory, but they are bound to find it tough going when they face league champions Liverpool.

Liverpool have lost one of their last 31 home league games against Tottenham (won 21, drawn nine) and are unbeaten in 14 (won 10, drawn four) since a 2-0 defeat in May 2011.

To make matters worse, Spurs will be without midfielder Joao Palhinha and captain Cristian Romero, who both suffered concussion after a clash of heads in the loss to Atletico.

"They are out. Micky (van de Ven) is also out (suspended). (Yves) Bissouma is out with a muscle (injury). Conor (Gallagher) has some fever, but probably will be in," Tudor said.

"We have a lot of problems to make the first eleven. This is how it is at this club ... We start to build something and then something happens like a red card in the last game or three or four injuries."

KINSKY HAS QUALITY

Goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky's performance at Atletico stood out for all the wrong reasons as the 22-year-old made two costly errors and was substituted in the 17th minute.

Usual first-choice keeper Guglielmo Vicario will be back in goal at Liverpool, Tudor told reporters.

Despite Kinsky's mistakes, Tudor said he would not hesitate to call on the Czech again in future, adding: "He will play, for sure. The day after on the training pitch he was very positive.

"It's a very rare situation that's happened probably for the first and last time in my life and the life of a lot of people.

"In his career, Kinsky will make other mistakes but he has a strength and quality. He has a very good career in front of him."

'You can cry or you can fight': Tudor urges struggling Spurs to rise to the challenge

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