Igor Tudor has accused his Tottenham squad of lacking fitness and desire, warning that the club’s injury crisis has created physical and mental problems that must be addressed immediately. The interim head coach, speaking ahead of Sunday’s trip to Fulham, said the players are “fatigued” after a punishing schedule and that he has been forced to implement a fitness reboot in training.
Tudor revealed that he has worked the squad extremely hard without the ball, a method he acknowledged players dislike, but insisted there is no time to pander to sensibilities. “Physically, we are not in an amazing situation,” he said. “They have played lots of games without lots of players available. We need to use this period to put some petrol in the engine.”
The Croatian highlighted the need for high pressing and defensive work, noting that some players are not running back after attacking. “It is easy to run there but you need to run back,” he said. “If you run up and don’t run back it’s a problem.” He also questioned the mentality of younger players, urging them to step up and take responsibility rather than simply being “here because others are injured.”
Tottenham will be without eight injured players for the Fulham match, plus the suspended Cristian Romero, although Pedro Porro and Kevin Danso could return. Tudor described the derby defeat to Arsenal as “not a realistic game” to judge his side, but admitted the upcoming matches against Fulham and Crystal Palace will be crucial in their fight against relegation.
