Igor Tudor inherits major Spurs problem Postecoglou and Frank couldn’t fix

Igor Tudor is set to make his Tottenham Hotspur managerial debut on Sunday as the Lilywhites take on Arsenal in the North London Derby, but may have to deal with a major issue during his tenure

Stephen Carr believes Igor Tudor faces a challenge that proved insurmountable for both Ange Postecoglou and Thomas Frank, with precious little time to address it at Tottenham Hotspur. The Croatian has taken charge as caretaker manager until the end of the season, following Frank’s dismissal just eight months after his appointment earlier this month.

After going winless in eight Premier League fixtures, with Spurs stuck in 16th place, the hierarchy decided they had seen enough from the Danish coach. Consequently, the club has turned to ex-Juventus and Lazio manager Tudor, with just 12 matches left to play, hoping he can steer Spurs clear of a potential relegation battle.

Yet the 47-year-old confronts a daunting task in achieving that, considering Tottenham are severely depleted squad-wise due to an ongoing injury crisis. It’s a problem Frank was compelled to navigate for much of this campaign, whilst Postecoglou was similarly hindered by absent players in 2024/25, only managing a 17th-place finish in the English top flight.

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That came despite securing the Europa League trophy that very same season. Now, Carr has identified that injuries appear to make up part of Spurs’ current troubles, leaving Tudor facing a near-impossible challenge if he wants his reign to be viewed as a success. Speaking to Mirror Football via Meta Spins Casino, the club legend said: “He [Frank] came with a reputation.

“He was a very good manager and he still is a very good manager, let’s not forget, because you can’t do that in the Champions League and then be a poor manager. He’s a very good manager.

“He’s had a lot of injuries. A lot of people can use that as an excuse. If any of the top clubs in that league had them injuries, they’d struggle – Man City, Arsenal, Man U, Liverpool. He’s had it tough, but unfortunately, in football, no one cares. It’s about results. They don’t think when they have injuries, they don’t even take that into account. Fans pay a lot of money to go there. They don’t care.”

Regarding how Tudor can resolve what neither Postecoglou nor Frank managed to, Carr believes the head coach requires consistency within his squad, and shouldn’t be fixated on implementing a particular style of play. He added: “He just needs stability in that team. He needs to get results, however they do it.

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“It’s not like we need to play this football and that football, the Tottenham way, like West Ham do; the West Ham way, it’s not about that. It’s about getting results now. It’s getting up that table. At the moment, they’re in a really poor position.”

Tudor’s opening fixture with Spurs takes the form of the North London Derby on Sunday, February 22 – a daunting challenge given Arsenal currently lead the Premier League table. However, following the Gunners’ 2-2 stalemate with bottom-placed Wolves in midweek, Carr believes his former side have a genuine opportunity to claim victory.

He said: “They have Arsenal at the weekend. Is it a good time to get Arsenal? Probably after the result they just had. They’re under pressure. They’re under pressure in a different way; to win the title.

“But it’d be a typical Tottenham team to go and get results after all that’s happened. So, they should be lifting themselves for that. I think it’s an amazing game. Any derby goes…you don’t know what’s happening in the derby. You’ve seen that in loads of derbies.

“I think it’s a great game for them. Always great to play in derbies. For the manager as well. I wouldn’t be surprised if Tottenham win, it’d be just a typical Tottenham.”

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