Tottenham boss Igor Tudor has outlined his plan to tackle Arsenal on Sunday during the north London derby despite an injury crisis.
It is no secret that Igor Tudor has a big task on his hands as he aims to steady the ship at Tottenham Hotspur.
The injury situation has not helped his cause, with as many as 12 players set to miss out on Sunday in the north London derby.
Still, the expectation is for results to improve, as Tottenham cannot afford to lose any more games, given how close they are to the relegation zone.
West Ham United, 18th in the Premier League table and five points behind 16th-placed Spurs, have been finding some form.
The Hammers could reduce the gap between themselves and Tottenham to two points should they manage a win against Bournemouth and Spurs lose to Arsenal.
Igor Tudor explains the need for a strong mentality on Sunday against Arsenal
Tudor is well aware of the task at hand and has now outlined how he plans to deal with the lack of fit players during the encounter with Arsenal.
Speaking to the official Tottenham channels, the Croatian acknowledged the scale of the injury problems, described the limited numbers available in training, and stressed that mentality will be key despite the circumstances.
He said: “Yeah, a very particular moment, as you know, this very rare situation that we find, 10 players injured, some with big injuries also.
“So we made training with 13 players, so it is how it is. It is not fantastically beautiful, but it is in this case a bigger challenge to succeed, to come out from this situation, which is now, of course.
“13 we will have, for sure, and it is quite enough to achieve what we want on Sunday. And that is the first of all.
“Of course, I understand the importance of this game, this is a derby, you know, north London derby. Everybody expects the points, the three points from us.
“We are aware of this, but what was my goal in these first sessions we made is that we became a team, that we became a team in the right meaning of the word, you know, the team who want to suffer when it needs to suffer.
“To fight, to run, to have the right mentality. Also, you know, this is the start. Also, I was working on a lot of things, not everything because football is not only about that.
“It is about having a clear idea of what we want to do. Very, very specific things we want to do with the ball, without the ball, when we are pressed or when we are low. So we work a lot, but the start is always about mentality. That is because the people come before the football player.”
Tottenham will need fans to spur them on against the Gunners
Arsenal also have injuries of their own, with the likes of Merino, Odegaard, Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka all doubts.
However, their injury list is nothing compared to that of Spurs, who will almost certainly feature several academy players on their bench.
Tudor’s view of the situation speaks to his mentality and determination to put up a fight, as he opted against using the injury crisis as an excuse.
With Tottenham short of fit players, the new boss will no doubt be hoping the 12th man – Spurs fans – can spur his side on as they look to end a four-year winless league run against the Gunners.