Tudor leaves Spurs after just 44 days in charge

Igor Tudor has left his role as Tottenham Hotspur interim head coach after just 44 days and seven matches.

Spurs said they have "mutually agreed" with the Croat to part ways with "immediate effect".

The decision comes a week after a damaging 3-0 home defeat by fellow strugglers Nottingham Forest on 22 March - a result that left Spurs 17th in the table and only one point above the relegation places with seven games remaining.

Tottenham have suffered five defeats in seven matches in all competitions since Tudor succeeded the sacked Thomas Frank on 14 February, on a deal until the end of the season.

Spurs said: "An update on a new head coach will be provided in due course."

BBC Sport understands Spurs will appoint Tudor's replacement in the next few days to be in place for when most players return from international duty.

Tudor's assistant Bruno Saltor will oversee training for those at the club.

They confirmed goalkeeping coach Tomislav Rogic and physical coach Riccardo Ragnacci have also departed.

Tudor, 47, did not undertake post-match media duties after the defeat by Forest because of the death of his father.

"We thank Igor, Tomislav and Riccardo for their efforts during the past six weeks, in which they worked tirelessly," said Spurs 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."

Tudor lost each of his first four matches as Spurs boss. The opening defeat by north London rivals Arsenal was followed by losses against Fulham and Crystal Palace in the league before a calamitous 5-2 Champions League last 16 first-leg defeat away to Atletico Madrid.

He celebrated his first point after Richarlison scored a 90th-minute equaliser at Liverpool, and then watched his side win their second leg against Atletico - although they failed to overturn their three-goal deficit.

However, the woeful defeat by Forest heightened Spurs' fears of suffering their first relegation from the top flight since 1977 and proved to be the final game of his brief spell.

The single point which Spurs have collected since Tudor's appointment is the fewest of any side in the Premier League during that time.

But they have been bottom of the form table since mid-December.

They are without a victory in 13 league matches since a 1-0 triumph over Crystal Palace on 28 December - 88 days ago - while their last win in any competition was over Eintracht Frankfurt on 28 January.

Among their issues this season has been an extensive list of long-term injuries to key players, including the likes of James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski.

Tottenham will resume their league campaign after the international break with a trip to 11th-placed Sunderland on 12 April.

They then face Brighton (home), Wolves (away), Aston Villa (away), Leeds (home), Chelsea (away) and Everton (home) as they seek to secure their Premier League status.

Tudor had been out of work since being sacked by Juventus in October 2025, following an eight-match winless run.

He departs Tottenham as one of only six managers to take charge of at least five Premier League games and fail to record a win.

Among the reasons given for Tudor's appointment was to introduce more attacking football, following criticism of their style of play under Frank.

Spurs did average slightly more shots per game under Tudor (11.6) than Frank (11.1), but they regressed in other metrics including goals scored (0.8, down from 1.4), expected goals (1.0, down from 1.1), and touches in the opposition box (21.0, down from 24.3).

Tudor's Tottenham had the third lowest xG across Premier League teams during his tenure - and only three teams managed fewer big chances.

Defensively, they faced the fifth most shots, fourth most shots on target and conceded the second most xG.

Only Burnley and Newcastle faced more big chances (17) than Spurs (16), while only Burnley (167) allowed more touches in their own box (161).

Tudor was a left-field gamble that went wrong from the start.

His unique selling point, in an appointment that smacked of panic from Tottenham's hierarchy, was that he had a chequered coaching career but a record of having the sort of instant impact the club required.

This never materialised. He became the first man in charge of Spurs to lose his first four matches, starting with that heavy 4-1 home defeat by Arsenal.

Tudor's brusque, plain speaking style got no more out of the Spurs squad than Frank's more empathetic approach. It never made any connection with the Spurs players, while a welter of tactical shifts hinted that he was struggling to work out how to get the best out of the shambles he had inherited.

The low point came in the Champions League last 16 first leg at Atletico Madrid where he gambled on selecting Antonin Kinsky in goal ahead of first-choice Guglielmo Vicario, only to remove the young Czech after just 17 minutes following two catastrophic errors that left Spurs 3-0 down in an eventual 5-2 defeat.

Tudor was also criticised for the manner in which he ignored Kinsky when he went off, comfort being left to his colleagues on the pitch, as well as Conor Gallagher and Dominic Solanke, who followed him down the tunnel to console him.

Improvement could be detected in the deserved draw at Liverpool before an honourable win in the Champions League exit to Atletico – but normal dismal service was resumed in last Sunday's highly-damaging 3-0 home defeat by fellow strugglers Nottingham Forest.

In Tudor's defence, he took over a shell-shocked and struggling squad decimated by injuries and stripped of confidence. There is no guarantee anyone else would have done markedly better.

In this emergency situation, Spurs had to act, but the whole episode reflects more badly on those at the top of the club than it does on Tudor.