2026-03-10 11:14:48
Igor Tudor hopes Tottenham can use the Champions League as a springboard for Premier League survival.
Spurs travel to Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their last 16 tie on Tuesday (10.03.26) and the interim boss accepts that the match can serve as a distraction from their domestic woes.
Tudor told reporters: “I agree with both things.
“As I said, focus on us, playing a team who has a story in this Champions League, what they have experienced, they have quality.
“We need to do our best in terms that we need to grow, as you said also because our first aim is the Premier League, this needs to be said publicly.
“This is a normal thing that this [Champions League] is something extra, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t want to pass to the next round.
“Of course, it’s very important. It’s important.
“We have to grow, so it can be an opportunity. A totally different mentality can be used in this kind of game. Maybe this can help us to see which problems we have.
“I believe that these kinds of games can help us to switch in the right way, but always focus on us, to grow as a team, to do things better and that’s the point.”
Tudor has come under immediate pressure after losing his first three games in charge but defender Pedro Porro has given the coach his backing.
Asked about his angry reaction to being substituted in last week’s defeat to Crystal Palace, the Spanish international said: “I just want to make it clear it was not about the manager. I am a player who gives it all on the pitch, 200 per cent, and we never like losing. It is just about that.
“Since I found out he was coming to the club, I knew he was going to be a manager that would help us a lot.
“All of the players know that we need to be on the right path with him.”
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