Fulham vs Spurs | Every word of Igor Tudor's pre-match press conference

Igor Tudor spoke to the media at Hotspur Way on Thursday, ahead of our trip to Craven Cottage to face Fulham in the Premier League on Sunday (2pm UK).

Here's what he had to say...

Were there any fresh injuries against Arsenal and can you confirm that Pedro Porro and Kevin Danso are available to face Fulham?

Igor: “Yes, that's right. No other issues, a small problem for Micky with his small toe, I think, but he's okay, he will be in.”

You've had a week of training, final thoughts on the Arsenal match, what other things did you learn?

Igor: “Nothing much to tell. We already commented after the game what kind of game it was. So, not much to speak even in this moment, which is a very particular moment, it's all focused on the daily work in the training, to climb up on the table, to work on performance, to work on all things.”

Is the job as hard as you expected or a bit more difficult?

Igor: “Probably yes, probably yes. I agree with you."

I know you're not here to have fun, but it's a tough job…

Igor: “Yeah, very tough, but it's what I said before, I don't change my opinion, it is how it is. So daily work, focus, raising in all things we need to do, physical condition, mental, confidence, performance and waiting for the players to come back. So, we need to be focused on us, what we can do, less thinking about others, that's always good and it should be good.”

How will you approach the Champions League?

Igor: “I don't think too much about the draw, if you ask me, I expect the draw tomorrow, don't change for me, nothing. In the moment we are, we can also discuss about what you said, but in other ways, it's a beautiful competition to play, everyone wants to play. So, the problem is the lack of numbers of players, the amount of players we have in the team, that's the problem, because if you need to play every three days with 10, 12, 13 and then you get… that's the problem, not that we play Champions League or not. Also, it's not about only spending physical energy, but also mental energy when every game for us in the league is the final. So, not an ideal situation, but it is how it is.”

What do you expect from Marco Silva and Fulham on Sunday?

Igor: “A very good team with a coach who is there for a long, long period. So, very recognisable team in the way how they do things, very serious team, always difficult to beat them, so it will be tough. As I said before, we need to be focused on us, what to do, because we need to make better our performance.”

You played with a back three against Arsenal, with Danso and Porro back, will that be your structure or might you experiment with a back four?

Igor: “I don't know, because we're going to see when they're back, how they're back, what are the other players, so this is work in the work to recognise what this team can do. You know, because when you start to work, you start, but then it's a game who shows you how is the real situation of the team, you know, in a mean of physical condition, because it's fantastic to go to press up and that's when I speak about style. That's also one part of the style, how you want to be without the ball, but then if you have too many problems back, then you need to think about the style, it's the right style, it's the right way, you can call it how you want. So, I need to be smart to understand deeper the moment and the way how to take the points, even not looking to the style now in this moment. Style needs to be in the second moment, this because now it's a question of life and death, if I can say that in that way, sportingly, you can use that then, yeah.”

Do you think this is more psychological and if so, how does a manager change mentality?

Igor: “Both things, I believe that the mentality changes by training, by doing the right things there and then to have enough training sessions that you can transmit this thing to your teams that on Sunday this can be seen, you know, from the fans in the stadium. So, that's the key, you know, the hard work in other ways, there is no other possibility.”

How do you turn the results around, if I'm right with what you just said, is it all now about results rather than performance?

Igor: “I agree with you, yes, now there's not too much time to think about performance or style, what I said before. As I said, because of these old things put together, I don't want to repeat again, you know, it's really the question that every game needs to be prepared in that way, how we're going to take these points, you know, one way, other way, so just that needs to be good. Unfortunately, it's for me very clear, I'm also not that kind of the coach who don't want to cure, let's say, style, let's say how we perform, what we do, but now this moment is not possible to think about those things.”

Have you used the ‘relegation’ word to your players?

Igor: “No, I never use it, but not because it's something to scare or something, it's like, I don't know how to explain, it's a danger word or we're not sleeping, you know, it's about that we need to be focused on ourselves, as I always said here, and I also, in the same way I speak with my players, to be focused on ourselves, you know, on the training, that's the only thing we can change, so there is nothing to think about the future or the points even, you know, the points come as a consequence of the training and the game, so that's the focus, that's the main and only focus we need to have.”

Is this your biggest job in terms of what we call ‘firefighting’ that you’ve had?

Igor: “Probably if I see, if I recognise the difficulties, they are probably, yes, probably, yes, but it's an even bigger challenge, you know, even a bigger motivation to do this and we do it, but I agree with you.”

How are Destiny Udogie and Dejan Kulusevski doing?

Igor: “I know the days, but not exactly now, so when they come, they come, so it is, you know, a daily, a week-based, we need to be focused on the way, also how they come back in the team, so also the very important thing is meantime they are recovering to put them in the condition, when they come back they are in good shape, otherwise it's a problem, but we are working this, it's an important part of our job.”

You know Dejan from your time at Juventus – have you spoken to him?

Igor: “Yes, I know him from there, fantastic player, fantastic guy, difficult moment, he's had really big problems, as you know here, but he's positive and also doctors are positive, so we will see next week how he's going.”

Another person you know quite well, Antonio Conte, I was just wondering, did you speak to him about Tottenham before you took the job?

Igor: “No, no, no, I didn't have time, he's also working there, so we didn't speak.”

Do you think Dejan Kulusevski could play at some point this season?

Igor: “We hope so, at this moment, we don't know.”

How has the week been for you, you've learnt more about your squad, do the players know the situation they're in? Do they need to fight dirty?

Igor: “Yes, we work in that direction. In Italy, they use the terms, you know, like have a mentality of a small team, you know, we use it in Italy, that kind, so that's the key always, you know, with the humble, with the willing, with the wish to have always motivation, like you play against a bigger team, so that's the start, of course. Then we work a lot of that. They are aware of everything, of course.”

Have you been given any explanation as to why Tottenham had such a lot of injuries over the past year?

Igor: “No, I have my thoughts, I have my opinions here, but I will keep them for myself.”

Is going to a back four something you considered for the Arsenal game, and would you consider that going forward?

“We will see, all options are there.”

At the other end of the pitch, you have Solanke, Kolo Muani, Richarlison – are you trying to work out how you can fit in as many of those guys as possible?

Igor: “Yeah, that's the main job to do also, how you can have enough offensive players but not suffering back. How many offensive players we can afford to not concede back too much. So, it's a particular moment also for understanding. Some are coming from injury, so you don't know, some players have some problems. So, this is sometimes not easy to make choices, but you watch, you do with your staff, you choose, that's the job where we are paid.”

There was a clip after the Arsenal game of Micky van de Ven, and the caption said that he had ignored your instructions…

Igor: “I saw them, but it was not instruction to Micky, it was instruction to the team to go up. It's not about, it was not about Micky. It was about the team coming up, what we were speaking before. We want to go up because we want to have this style that we press high, but the team has, maybe in this moment, it's too much for them. That's why it was a little frustration of that, but nothing special happened.”

Fans are now thinking that Micky's sort of disrespecting you…

Igor: “No, no, if you watch carefully now, you see that I don't speak with him., because after was that one advice that I said to him, come closer and he came closer. In that moment when I saw it like this, it was all for all defence to go up. We didn't even speak about this, me and Micky, because there's nothing to speak, you know. He’s a fantastic guy, very good professional, so he would never do those things, you know. “

Joao Palhinha faces his former club on Sunday – how much have you considered where to play him, also, as a character, he’s a big leader…

Igor: “Yes, a big leader, important for the dressing room, all his skills, not just as a player, also as a human being, you know. Yeah, he played there (part of three-man defence), this is not his natural position. So, he did something extra for the team in this particular moment, but I know that he's best for that. We put a line of four last game to protect other weakness we can maybe have in that moment. Playing against teams, so you always need to do some adjustment. You believe in that moments are the best for the team, and in this particular moment, some of us need to play in the role that he's not the best position.”