Is Tudor's Spurs reign almost up after only four games?

By the banks of the Manzanares, Tottenham Hotspur’s season plumbed new depths as interim head coach Igor Tudor presided over a 5-2 humiliation at Atlético Madrid, a result that leaves his own future hanging by the thinnest of threads after only four matches in charge.

The night will be remembered chiefly for the 17th-minute substitution of 22-year-old goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky, hauled off after two costly slips had already gifted Marcos Llorente and Julián Álvarez the opening goals. It was a moment without modern precedent: a young keeper publicly withdrawn before the first quarter-hour mark, left to trudge past sympathetic applause from both sets of supporters while his manager stared ahead, stone-faced.

Tudor later defended the decision—“I did it to preserve the guy and to preserve the team”—yet the wider damage was irreversible. By the 23rd minute, Atlético led 4-0; by full-time, Spurs had conceded 14 goals in four consecutive defeats under the Croatian, the worst start for any Tottenham manager in history.

The statistics are stark, but the optics are worse. Micky van de Ven’s slip to present Antoine Griezmann with the third goal encapsulated a side that appears to have forgotten basic mechanics; the players’ body language suggested a dressing-room disconnected from its coach. Sources have told BBC Sport that squad members remain unconvinced Tudor possesses either the tactical blueprint or the man-management skills to halt the slide.

Asked whether he still merits the job, Tudor offered only, “This is not a topic for me,” a stark contrast to the club’s travelling support, who arrived in Madrid devoid of hope and departed with fresh scars. Former Spurs and England goalkeeper Paul Robinson, on co-commentary duty, labelled the substitution “selfish” and warned that Tudor “will not be here for long.”

The spectre of Mauricio Pochettino—present in the Metropolitano stands—adds another layer of discomfort for the Tottenham hierarchy. The Argentine remains the fans’ choice to succeed Thomas Frank on a permanent basis, yet the prospect of a relegation battle may test his appetite for a romantic return.

Tudor’s reputation was built on swift impact stops at Juventus and Lazio; at Spurs, the touch has been positively Midas-in-reverse. With a trip to Liverpool looming on Sunday, the 46-year-old can ill-afford another misstep. He is expected to reinstate Guglielmo Vicario, the keeper he discarded in Madrid, but the broader question is whether he will even reach the weekend.

Four matches, four losses, a shattered keeper and a fractured dressing-room: Tottenham’s board must now decide whether cutting ties with Tudor constitutes an embarrassing U-turn or a necessary rescue operation. The stakes are no longer European progression; they are Premier League survival.