Igor Tudor has put Tottenham’s small signs of progress down to sharper minds, fitter bodies and a little less on-field sleepiness.
Spurs followed a draw at Liverpool with victory against Atletico Madrid, which was not enough to avoid elimination from the Champions League but did lift the mood.
‘Mental sharpness,’ said interim boss Tudor. ‘That was the key. We are sleeping less on the pitch. For me this is crucial. Now, we react earlier on what happened on the pitch.
‘We are not always wondering what happened and then reacting. We are reacting before things happen. Not in the way I would like but much better.
‘This mental sharpness, awareness of dangerous situations, this is coming and that’s why we are better.’
Tudor also has reason to believe his players are fitter than when he arrived. ‘I saw good energy,’ he said. ‘I saw good numbers. They told me the last games are in the top four or five of all season for high intensity runs, so I think we are progressing.’
Igor Tudor has been lifted by what he has seen in Tottenham’s past two matches
Tudor has benefited from a slightly less congested schedule since replacing Thomas Frank in mid-February.
Nottingham Forest on Sunday will be his seventh game in four weeks whereas Frank played nine in his final four weeks during a period when injuries were biting hard.
Tudor has players returning. Lucas Bergvall, who had been out for two months, and Destiny Udogie, who had been out for five weeks, both came off the bench against Atletico Madrid in midweek.
There were also positive updates on Mohamed Kudus and Rodrigo Bentancur, who have been out since January but could be back soon after the upcoming international break, and James Maddison who Tudor expects to return from a serious knee injury before the end of the season.
Spurs are 16th in the Premier League with eight to play and Forest are only one point behind, outside the relegation zone only because they have a better goal difference than West Ham, who are at Aston Villa on Sunday.
Tudor was reluctant however to pile too much emphasis on Sunday’s clash with Forest, claiming there was no such thing as a ‘six-pointer’ and he did not see it as a ‘cup final’.
‘There are a lot of points to play for,’ said the Croatian. ‘Of course, it’s an important game because we are together there so let’s say not six, but four.
‘It’s not a final. Maybe not three points but a four-point game. It is important but it will not be decisive.’
