Tottenham Stars Warned by Igor Tudor as Interim Boss Lays Down ‘First Priority’ Among Other Objectives

Igor Tudor has taken charge of Tottenham Hotspur until the end of the 2025-26 campaign and immediately challenged every member of his squad to “give something more” as he fights to drag the club away from relegation trouble and into the UEFA Champions League knockout rounds.

The 47-year-old Croat, appointed last week after the dismissal of Thomas Frank, conducted his first training session on Monday and used an interview with SPURSPLAY to outline the non-negotiables he expects from a group that has won only once in its last nine league fixtures.

“The first priority is to give everything the team needs in these moments,” Tudor said. “The team needs, I believe, first of all, to get some confidence, to get some courage, but also, in the same way, the concrete things on the pitch.”

Tudor, whose previous posts include Juventus, Lazio, Marseille, Galatasaray and Hajduk Split, arrives in north London with a reputation for swift turnarounds. He rescued Juventus’ Champions League place on the final day of last season after being parachuted in following Thiago Motta’s sacking, only to be relieved of his duties in autumn after an eight-match winless sequence.

That turbulent exit has done little to quell scepticism surrounding his Spurs appointment, with TalkSPORT pundit Ally McCoist predicting a “rude awakening” and former Tottenham manager Tim Sherwood listing the lofty requirements Tudor must meet to earn the role on a permanent basis.

Yet the interim head coach insists he is not looking beyond the next training session, let alone the summer. “There is no time to find excuses,” he stressed. “Each of us, each of the players, needs to give something extra because the position of the club at this moment is not one that anybody can accept.”

Tudor inherits a squad decimated by injuries and low on belief, sitting just four points above the drop zone ahead of Sunday’s North London Derby against Arsenal. He plans to confront the crisis by installing an attacking, high-energy style and has already begun tailoring a system to the fit personnel available.

“Maybe this can sound strange, but I believe that the thing that we need to be focused on is the training,” he explained. “Sunday and the game is a consequence of the training. The coach needs to show the path, where is the way we want to go, how we want to go, and the players need to accept this.”

Supporters, desperate for a spark after a bruising fortnight, have responded positively to Tudor’s blunt assessment. The true test arrives at the weekend when a positive result against their fiercest rivals would not only lift morale but also provide tangible evidence that the Croat’s demanding message has hit home.

Tottenham stars have been warned: no excuses, no half-measures, and no hiding place as Igor Tudor begins his short-term mission to salvage Spurs’ season.