Tottenham Hotspur are close to dropping into the relegation zone, and Pat Nevin is less than impressed with their response to such dreadful circumstances.
Few would have expected Tottenham Hotspur to be in a fight for survival in the Premier League earlier in the season, but now it is not hard to see why.
Spurs have absolutely no life in their play and whatever promise there is pre-match quickly fades away once the game gets underway.
There was hope of a fresh start under Igor Tudor, but the new manager is already struggling to steady the ship, and he does not sound optimistic about the task ahead of him.
Pat Nevin accuses Tottenham of failing to show enough fight
Sometimes a change in leadership can be exactly what a team need and this was certainly the case for Manchester United, when they replaced Ruben Amorim with Michael Carrick.
However, there is no difference between Tudor’s Tottenham in comparison with Thomas Frank and Pat Nevin thinks he has spotted the team’s biggest problem.
He told BBC Sport: “Manchester United’s phenomenal run continues and it is fair to call it phenomenal. Immediately winning six from seven and now proudly sitting third, this must have been beyond the club’s wildest dreams in the dark weeks before Michael Carrick took charge.
“Maybe even more impressive is the atmosphere around the entire club, from fans to staff to players, all of whom appear to have a new joyous positivity.”
Comparing this with Tottenham’s situation, Nevin continued: “Contrast this feeling with the misery at Tottenham Hotspur, who appear shorn of belief and good cheer. Listening to new boss Igor Tudor post-match, even he seems to have been dragged into a depression after just a couple of games.
“They are now squarely in a relegation dogfight, but unfortunately there doesn’t appear to be enough fight in the group. When you are down there the bare minimum is to kick, bite and scratch for everything, be it a tackle or a lucky point, but that isn’t happening enough yet.
“The others around them know what is needed. Forest have fight, West Ham have discovered a warrior spirit lately and even Burnley and Wolves are showing that spirit.”
Nevin added: “Spurs have good players but without that willingness to get down and dirty, the unimaginable could now happen.”
Spurs need to wake up to the reality of Premier League relegation
There is still a feeling that no one truly believes Tottenham will get relegated, because it is just unthinkable and maybe their players believe this too.
However, it has reached a point in the season where if Spurs keep on losing, sooner or later, they will be overtaken by Nottingham Forest and West Ham. With the Hammers beating Fulham and Forest getting a point off Man City, Spurs are now just a point from safety.
There has to be fight, belief and positivity from both the manager and his players to start getting results, otherwise they are in serious trouble.