igor tudor says there is 'no time for excuses' as he takes charge of Tottenham
Igor Tudor has been installed as interim head coach until the end of the season and warned there is "no time to find excuses" as he attempts to arrest a damaging run of form. With the club perilously placed in the table and a raft of injuries to contend with, Tudor has set immediate targets of restoring confidence and tightening the team's preparation ahead of a crucial spell of fixtures.
Immediate priorities: confidence, courage and training
Tudor made clear his mandate on arrival: lift performances quickly and secure results. "I'm coming here knowing that the situation is not easy. There is no time to find excuses, " he said, stressing that players must deliver more both mentally and tactically. He believes the most urgent work is psychological — restoring belief and courage — coupled with focused, concrete preparation on the training ground.
His message to players is uncompromising. Tudor wants visible improvements in intensity and organisation and expects the squad to buy into a clear pathway forward. He emphasised that style matters but that it must be married to effectiveness: the team must find a way to translate the club's culture and expectations into immediate results.
Injury picture forces tactical pragmatism
The club arrives with a heavy injury list, leaving Tudor with a significantly reduced selection pool. He acknowledged that this complicates matters and that the first task is to identify the best system to suit available personnel. That may require pragmatic adjustments rather than wholesale stylistic changes, with the coach and his staff needing to be "very intelligent" about short-term choices.
Restoring confidence in the players who are fit will be central. Tudor has expressed an intention to prioritise clear, efficient training sessions as the mechanism to build both match sharpness and morale. He also stressed that each member of staff must contribute something extra at this decisive stage of the campaign.
Fixture test and wider expectations
The new boss faces his first match at home to local rivals on 22 February 2026 (ET), a fixture that will offer an early indicator of his short-term impact. The club sit five points above the relegation zone with 12 Premier League matches remaining, a position Tudor described as "one that nobody can accept. " The schedule also includes European commitments, with the Champions League knockout rounds restarting in March, adding another layer of complexity.
Tudor arrives with a track record of mid-season interventions and improvement at previous clubs. He has linked his approach to a balance between respecting the team's established culture and imposing his own principles where needed. With little margin for error, his immediate challenge will be to stabilise results while maintaining the longer-term identity expected by supporters.
Club leadership has tasked him with bringing organisation, intensity and a competitive edge at a critical juncture. The next few weeks will test whether Tudor can galvanise the squad, manage the injury crisis, and begin to turn form around in both domestic and continental competitions.
His appointment was confirmed on Sat 14 February 2026, 12: 00 ET, on a deal that runs until the end of the season, and attention now shifts to how quickly he can translate words into points on the pitch.
