Former Tottenham goalkeeper Brad Friedel fears his old club might not have the mind-set for a survival scrap as they head into Sunday’s huge game against fellow strugglers Nottingham Forest.
Spurs could drop into the relegation zone this weekend if they lose at home to Forest and West Ham win away at Aston Villa.
Friedel, who spent four years at Tottenham at the end of his career, was encouraged to see interim coach Igor Tudor pick up his first point in a 1-1 draw at Liverpool last weekend. However, he is concerned that a team built to challenge for the Champions League is not equipped psychologically to be fighting to stay out of the Championship.
‘I worry about the next fixture in the league, Nottingham Forest at home,’ said Friedel. ‘The club is in danger of going down. I was really happy to see the fight they showed at Anfield. But the glamour ties are probably easier for them, especially away from home.
‘The players who were signed there wanted to play big games. They wanted to play European football, Champions League football. Going to Anfield, I think it was probably easier for them to get up for. But at least they showed that fight. They now have a point and not another loss. They have something to build on.
‘But if they lose to Forest, it’s a mental struggle for this team. You need a different type of mental character to fight a relegation battle than you do to go for winning the league or fighting for Champions League places.
‘As for going into games nervous, playing a team around them who are fifth from bottom and could slip into the bottom three if the result doesn’t go well, it’s a completely different mind-set.
Spurs have been told they don’t have the mentality for a relegation battle
‘The fans are not used to fighting relegation battles there, and they don’t want to watch it. They want to see their team playing free-flowing, attacking football.
‘I think the fans will be behind them at kick-off, but the first two or three negative moments, if that happens, they’re going to be right on the players. The players are going to have to get through that.
‘If they can score early and something positive can happen, then great. But they could go down. I hope they don’t. I still think their squad is good enough to stay up, and I was really encouraged by the point at Anfield.’
Speaking to OLBG, Friedel believes Tottenham are in a more perilous situation to a year ago when they finished 17th but well clear of the three clubs that went down.
‘With regards to learning from last season, I think yes and no,’ he added. ‘I think the season before that, the board were planning on taking some power away from Daniel Levy. That’s what it looks like to me.
‘With all the injuries they had last season, let’s be honest, they were safe from relegation a long time before the end of the season. I know they finished 17th, but they were never in jeopardy of relegation with the way the bottom three struggled. Ange Postecoglou did put all of his eggs into the cup (Europa League) basket.
‘So I’m not sure it was the same type of situation. Running a football club, you can overcomplicate things. I think Daniel Levy had a really good formula. People can argue that he wasn’t a risk-taker, and that might be true, but he was an excellent chairman.
‘The team, in my opinion, if he had the power, would not be in this position. I think you’re seeing some people taking over a revenue-generating club of £500-560m, and they’re sort of lost in how to operate it. They have to learn, and they have to learn quickly.’
Although Postecoglou won the Europa League by beating Manchester United in the final in Bilbao, Spurs sacked the Australian coach and brought in Thomas Frank.
Brad Friedel shared his fears ahead of Sunday’s match against Nottingham Forest
Friedel believes only time will tell if Tudor was the right choice to take over in February when Frank was sacked as well.
‘That’s impossible to answer, really,’ said the 54-year-old American. ‘Did they tell someone like Igor Tudor that he had to come in and lead with an iron fist, because these players weren’t respecting Thomas Frank, weren’t shaking his hand, weren’t listening to instructions?
‘If that’s what they told him and that’s what he did, and that seemed to backfire at the beginning, it might be because his press conferences have been completely different. His message has been different.
‘He may also be very smart. He might be understanding the Premier League now and making all the right decisions from now to the end of the season, and they could stay up comfortably. We just have to wait and see. If they stay up, he’s the right hire. If they go down, then he was the wrong hire. That’s football, unfortunately.
‘I don’t know Igor Tudor personally. The Premier League is hard, and a lot of players and coaches need time to acclimatise to the situation and the task at hand.
‘Whether hiring him was a mistake or not, I really don’t know. I do think they should have gone for somebody like a Harry Redknapp type, similar to what Celtic did by hiring Martin O’Neill.
‘Somebody who knows the club, can give a message to the fans, can give the players their responsibility. If the players want to disrespect them, they’ll deal with it. The fans would know that, and I think that’s what was needed.’
