Published: 02:00, 7 March 2026 | Updated: 02:00, 7 March 2026

The most persuasive argument for Igor Tudor remaining in interim charge of Tottenham’s deepening crisis boils down to two things.

One is that there is no viable alternative, which is not strictly correct. Plenty of coaches out there would love to give it a go and could hardly have fared worse than Tudor over the first three games. Under him, Spurs have not collected a single point, have led for only six out of 270 minutes and conceded nine while he has bounced from one tactical plan to another and paced about with a stern disapproving expression on his face.

The other more pertinent issue is that if they were to give up on Tudor and pivot again before the end of the season in a desperate last throw of the dice to dodge a ruinous relegation, they will still have the same depleted and dispirited squad of players. Many are still missing and on the evidence of the Crystal Palace defeat, those who are fit and available are suffering a crisis of...