Tottenham Searching for Third Manager of the Season as Relegation Looms

Tottenham Hotspur will begin the hunt for their third permanent manager of the 2025-26 campaign after parting company with Igor Tudor, whose 44-day tenure ended in the wake of Sunday’s 3-0 home defeat to fellow strugglers Nottingham Forest.

The result leaves Spurs 16th, one point above the relegation places with only seven fixtures remaining. West Ham United, currently 18th, could leapfrog their London rivals as early as Friday if they beat bottom side Wolverhampton Wanderers, two days before Spurs travel to Sunderland.

Tudor, appointed in early March to arrest the slump that cost Thomas Frank his job, collected just five points from a possible 21. The Croatian’s final match encapsulated the fragility of the squad: a listless performance against a Forest side that had previously taken only one point from its prior six away games.

Chairman Daniel Levy now faces the unenviable task of identifying a fire-fighter capable of galvanising a dressing room that has won twice since 1 February. The next head coach will inherit a club whose survival probability, according to Opta’s supercomputer, stands at 73 per cent—an improvement on the 49 per cent assigned when Frank departed, but still precarious.

Burnley (99.90 per cent) and Wolves (99.88 per cent) are considered near-certainties for the drop, while West Ham’s estimated 57.03 per cent chance of relegation intensifies the scrutiny on Nuno Espírito Santo. Only goal difference currently separates the Hammers from 19th-placed Burnley, and a single misstep could tilt the picture.

Fixtures ahead offer little comfort. Spurs still face Chelsea, Aston Villa, Brighton and an Everton side chasing Europe, while West Ham must negotiate Arsenal, Newcastle, Brentford and Everton inside the final month. Both clubs, however, meet Wolves—whose second-half resurgence under Rob Edwards has belied their 20th place—and Everton, giving each a potential six-point swing.

The Lilywhites’ season concludes at home to Everton on 17 May, a fixture that could decide whether Tottenham remain a Premier League club—or become the first side in English top-flight history to employ three full-time managers in a single season and still suffer relegation.