Tottenham icon warns Igor Tudor faces same debilitating issue that derailed Postecoglou and Frank

Stephen Carr believes Igor Tudor will need to solve the injury puzzle to succeed at Tottenham.

Stephen Carr believes Igor Tudor will need to confront a deep-seated problem at Tottenham Hotspur that neither Ange Postecoglou nor Thomas Frank were able to overcome, warning that the Croatian faces an almost impossible task given the conditions he has inherited.

Speaking exclusively to Football London, the former Spurs defender identified the club’s persistent injury crisis as the root cause of their troubles, arguing that the same issue that hampered his predecessors remains unresolved and will define Tudor’s interim spell.

Carr was sympathetic toward Frank, whose eight-month tenure ended without a single win from his last eight Premier League matches before the board pulled the plug. He said (h/t Football London):

“He came with a reputation. He was a very good manager and he still is a very good manager,” Carr said. “He’s had a lot of injuries. If any of the top clubs in that league had them injuries, they’d struggle. Man City, Arsenal, Man United, Liverpool. He’s had it tough, but unfortunately in football no one cares. It’s about results.”

The injury problem is not new. Postecoglou navigated the same minefield throughout 2024-25, ultimately finishing 17th despite winning the Europa League, a remarkable achievement undermined entirely by a league campaign conducted with a depleted squad. Tudor now faces identical circumstances with just 12 games remaining and Spurs sitting 16th, four points above the drop zone.

Tottenham in survival mode?

Carr’s advice for Tudor was deliberately unglamorous. Forget philosophy, forget style, focus on survival. He stated:

“He just needs stability in that team. He needs to get results, however they do it. It’s not like we need to play this football and that football. It’s about getting results now. It’s getting up that table.”