Tottenham Hotspur and coach Igor Tudor have parted ways by mutual consent, the club confirmed on Sunday, just seven games into his tenure as the Premier League side battles to avoid relegation.
Tudor, 47, oversaw five defeats in his brief spell, leaving Spurs outside the Champions League qualification spots and just one point above the relegation zone. He did not address the media following last weekend’s heavy 3-0 loss to fellow strugglers Nottingham Forest, as he had just learned of his father’s passing after the match.
“We can confirm that it has been mutually agreed for head coach Igor Tudor to leave the club with immediate effect,” Tottenham said in a statement. “We also acknowledge the bereavement that Igor has recently suffered and send our support to him and his family at this difficult time. An update on a new head coach will be provided in due course.”
Tottenham will not play again for another two weeks, when they face Sunderland in their next Premier League fixture.
Tudor, a former Juventus manager, had been appointed in February after the dismissal of Thomas Frank. However, he was unable to arrest Spurs’ alarming slide toward relegation, a position the club has not faced since 1977.
READ ALSO: Champions League: Simeone Cautions Atletico Against Tottenham’s High-Speed Play
The London club, hit hard by injuries this season, has not recorded a Premier League victory since late December and has already been eliminated from all domestic and European cup competitions. Last year, Spurs ended a 17-year trophy drought by winning the Europa League under Ange Postecoglou, who was sacked after a 17th-place league finish.
Frank had begun the current season with strong form, losing only once in Tottenham’s first seven league games, but the team faltered, winning just two of 17 matches, leading to his dismissal.
With relegation all but confirmed for Burnley and Wolves, Tottenham now fights for survival alongside West Ham, Nottingham Forest, and Leeds United. Dropping to the Championship would be a seismic event in English football, particularly for a “Big Six” club with a state-of-the-art stadium holding more than 60,000 fans and a ninth-place ranking in Deloitte’s latest Money League of the richest football clubs globally.
Just a few years ago, Spurs were regular Champions League competitors under Mauricio Pochettino, reaching the 2019 final, but their decline has been steep. The club now has seven matches remaining after the international break to avoid a historic relegation.