Igor Tudor is already facing the pressure at Tottenham Hotspur after losing 4-1 to Arsenal in his first game in charge of the club.
The Croatian’s primary objective is to keep Tottenham in the Premier League, with the club currently occupying 16th place in the table.
They are just four points clear of 18th-placed West Ham United, who have looked a lot better in recent weeks.
The same could be said about Nottingham Forest, who gave Liverpool a run for their money last week before losing to a last-minute winner from Alexis Mac Allister.
Tottenham were beaten comfortably by Arsenal in the North London derby as things went from bad to worse for them.
Read More: Tottenham players sent stern Igor Tudor warning – told to expect ‘shock’ in relegation scrap
And now, their interim manager has appeared to confess that the size of the task in hand is bigger than expected.
Tudor: Tottenham challenge much harder than expected
Tottenham travel to Craven Cottage on Sunday in what could prove to be a pivotal game for the club.
They are the only winless side left in the Premier League in 2026, which goes to show just how badly they performed during Thomas Frank’s last few games in charge.
Not too many people expected them to beat Arsenal, although there was a small matter of pride at stake due to the history between the two clubs.
However, the manner of the defeat laid bare Tottenham’s frailties, particularly in defence.
Speaking at a press conference ahead of the game against Fulham, Tudor was asked if the job as Tottenham’s interim head coach was harder than he expected, to which he gave a refreshingly honest response.
“Probably yes. I agree with you. Very tough, but it is what I said before, I don’t change my opinion. That is it.
“So daily work, focus on all things we need to do – physical condition, mental condition, performance and waiting on [injured] players to come back.
“We need to be focused on us, what we can do, less thinking about others and it should be good.”
Porro, Danso back for Fulham
Pedro Porro and Kevin Danso were spotted in Tottenham training ahead of the game, in what could be a huge boost for the club.
Tudor confirmed that they are fit and available to face Fulham, while Micky van de Ven should also be good to go after suffering a toe injury.
However, he also rued Tottenham’s long injury list, with the likes of Rodrigo Bentancur, Destiny Udogie, Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison and Mohamed Kudus sidelined, among others.
“The problem is the lack of numbers we have in the team,” said the interim boss.
“There’s the problem – if you need to play every three days with 10,12, 13. Also, it’s not only about spending physical energy but also mental energy when every game for us in the league is a final. Not an ideal situation.”
Porro and Danso are expected to be drafted into the starting XI immediately. Joao Palhinha could move into midfield to accommodate the Swiss international at the back, while Porro will be stationed as a right wing-back in place of Archie Gray.
