Tottenham boss Igor Tudor has admitted his squad are not currently in the right physical condition to play his desired style of football.
Tudor took over the reins from Thomas Frank earlier this month, signing a deal to work on an interim basis until the end of the season.
The former Juventus boss failed to make an impact in his first game in charge, seeing his side fall to a heavy 4-1 defeat at home to north London rivals Arsenal.
The result represented Tottenham’s third consecutive Premier League defeat and only added to the fears of an unthinkable relegation to the Championship.
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Tudor laments squad’s physical condition
Languishing in 16th spot, Spurs will be desperate to increase the four-point gap to the drop zone in Sunday’s away fixture against Fulham.
Tudor has had another week to work with his squad ahead of the crucial contest, but he has tempered hopes that his team will be able to successfully employ his preferred playing style for the fixture.
The 47-year-old wants his players to play with physical intensity and adopt a man-to-man pressing approach out of possession.
However, Tudor believes that the squad’s poor physical condition is making it difficult for them to adapt to his high-pressing style.
“Physically, we are not in an amazing situation,” Tudor told reporters on Thursday. “They have played lots of games in the last period without lots of players available and the physical condition of the team has dropped down.
“So, we need to use this period where we don’t play the games to put some petrol in the engine, so the engine starts to work better.”
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Tottenham boss makes fatigue admission
“They are fatigued and to press high you need to be fit. But [it is] all of them because if someone is not in the right shape, there is a problem because someone is coming [pressing] late.
“And the second thing is that there is the other goal to protect. It is easy to run there, but you need to run back, so if you run up and don’t run back, it’s a problem.
“For sure, we will improve and do these things better over time but in this moment it’s a big question what we can do and what we cannot.”
Tudor will at least have the defensive duo of Kevin Danso and Pedro Porro available for Sunday’s away clash.
Danso has recovered from a toe problem, while Porro has completed his recovery from a hamstring injury.