Tottenham Hotspur have been tipped to perform a “very surprising” U-turn on head coach Igor Tudor on two conditions.
Earlier this year, Spurs appointed former Juventus boss Tudor to replace Thomas Frank, with their current boss tasked with guiding the north London side to Premier League safety.
However, Tudor endured a nightmare start at Spurs, with the head coach losing his first four games against Arsenal, Fulham, Crystal Palace and Atletico Madrid.
This run reportedly had Tudor close to the sack, but Spurs have somewhat recovered in recent days as they have drawn against Liverpool and won the second leg against Atletico Madrid en route to a 7-5 aggregate loss.
Next up for Spurs is a huge six-pointer against relegation rivals Nottingham Forest, and former goalkeeper Brad Friedel is fearful of their survival chances.
“Let’s look at it this way: do they have the quality of players to survive a Premier League relegation scrap, or to avoid relegation altogether? Yes. Do they have the quality where they shouldn’t even be in a relegation scrap? Yes,” Friedel told Action Network.
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“Do they have the mentality for a relegation fight? I’m not so sure.
“I think the away match at Liverpool probably came at the perfect time, because it was more of a ‘glamour’ tie than a ‘roll your sleeves up’ kind of game.
“I also liked what I saw against Atletico Madrid — they had a different tactical approach, especially being up 5-2 — and at least in the last two games you saw a bit of fight.
“However, those were both big global games that these players were signed for.”
He added: “So these [like vs Forest] are the games that really worry me. They do, because these are the mental matches.”
However, Friedel also thinks Spurs could perform a U-turn and keep Tudor beyond this season if he “corrects” his mistakes and oversees a great end to this campaign.
“I would find it very surprising if he stayed. But in any team sport, once a manager gets it and things click, and you see that on a day-to-day basis, that can change people’s minds,” Friedel added.
“So if he looks back and says, ‘those first four or five weeks, I got it wrong — and this is why,’ and then corrects it… let’s say they go on and win the rest of their games between now and the end of the season, then there has to be an argument to keep him.”
He added: “Right now, if you’re asking me whether he stays, I’d say no. But if he gets it, things click, and you start to see real building blocks, then you keep him.
“The only people who really know that are the ones inside the training ground every day.”
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