‘It is not Igor Tudor’s fault’ – Alan Shearer says Tottenham stars are failing at one football basic

Alan Shearer has refused to place the blame for Tottenham Hotspur’s struggles on Igor Tudor as Spurs continue their relegation battle.

It is dark times for Tottenham Hotspur, who are battling to remain in the Premier League this season after holding top-flight status for nearly half a century.

At the moment, Spurs are just one point clear of the bottom three heading into the international break following a disappointing 3-0 defeat at the hands of Nottingham Forest.

That loss leaves Igor Tudor under intense pressure, with results under his guidance not improving a great deal.

Tottenham Alan Shearer verdict on Igor Tudor pressure

It is claimed that Tottenham are looking to part ways with Tudor after his defeat in the relegation six-pointer on Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

A few names have been linked with the Spurs job in recent days as Tottenham continue to work behind the scenes to get out of what is a crisis.

Speaking to Betfair, Alan Shearer assessed Tottenham’s performance and highlighted major defensive concerns, while questioning the lack of response following Nottingham Forest’s opener.

The former Newcastle United forward is not convinced that Tudor is solely responsible for Spurs’ poor displays this season.

He said: “It was really poor at the weekend again for Spurs. I watched the whole game and the alarming thing for Spurs is being beaten 3-0 by a team who you are scrapping with yourselves, particularly at home.

“And again, where was the response? Forest scored late on in the first half, and you are thinking, OK, what have you got?

“Give us something in reply, and the second half was even worse. You can feel the edginess, and I get that. I understand that. But defensively, they are just all over the place, and that is more important than anything, particularly at any level of football.

“You cannot defend like that, like they did. The lack of energy or drive to stop balls coming into the box is one thing, and then the lack of fighting and scraping when people are in and around the box.

“There was not anyone anywhere near Morgan Gibbs-White before his goal. The alarming thing for Spurs is how are they going to keep a clean sheet? They are just a mess defensively.”

Igor Tudor is backed by Shearer despite poor Spurs record

Speaking to Betfair, Shearer also made clear he does not blame Igor Tudor for Tottenham’s current situation, pointing to deeper issues at the club.

“It is not Igor Tudor’s fault, but obviously, he has picked up one point from five games, but the club was a mess before he got there.

“You are not going to be put in his situation without the club being in a mess. As tough as it is, he has not been able to have an impact on the squad and on the football club. Now, clearly, he is going through a terrible, horrible time off the pitch in terms of the death of his father. It is an impossible time for him, and Spurs are in a deep mess.”

Tudor is not the only manager to have struggled in the first few months in a job, with a handful of managers going through similar situations. However, most of these managers were eventually sacked as they struggled to improve the situation at their clubs.

Comparison of poor Premier League managerial starts (with dismissal dates)

Manager	Club	Games	Wins	Draws	Losses	Points	PPG	Dismissed
Igor Tudor	Tottenham Hotspur	5	0	1	4	1	0.20	— (still in charge)
Terry Connor	Wolverhampton Wanderers	13	0	4	9	4	0.31	3 September 2012
Russell Martin	Southampton	16	1	2	13	5	~0.31	15 December 2024
Ivan Jurić	Southampton	14	1	1	12	4	0.29	7 April 2025
Frank de Boer	Crystal Palace	4	0	0	4	0	0.00	11 September 2017

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