Mentally weak Spurs chopped down by efficient Forest as relegation worries intensify

Lilywhites v Tricky Trees. Pic by @JTaylorSport

Tottenham Hotspur 0-3 Nottingham Forest

‘To Dare Is To Do’ is the Tottenham Hotspur club motto. The unmistakable branding of enterprise emblazoned all over their £1bn stadium.

Towards the end of a wretched second half showing by Spurs which ended in a ruthlessly efficient 3-0 win for fellow relegation threatened Nottingham Forest, a handful of flags by home fans were waved in an act of noble resistance. The sort which their team absolutely lacked.

A goal just before half time by Igor Jesus piled pressure on the north Londoners that they, ultimately could not cope with, despite a promising first half. Any such drive ebbed away by the time Morgan Gibbs-White and Taiwo Awoniyi added killer goals for Forest, who performed with discipline and organisation.

Only West Ham’s loss at Aston Villa keeps Tottenham above the bottom three by a single point. Yet with seven games to go, and Spurs’ mentality crumbling with alarm just when they need it most, there are no guarantees they will not be playing Championship football next term. And on the basis of their woeful second half that is a distinct possibility.

Tottenham’s character – or, rather, lack of it – emerged as they could not undo the damage of going behind. And Igor Tudor, the manager on a contract until the end of the season, looks less than likely of inspiring a clumsy outfit to battle through and survive.

The Croatian’s choice of playing Gugi Vicario in goal, for instance, puzzled. The goalkeeper is playing with a hernia and was at fault for Forest’s second goal.

Furthermore, the mass exodus once Awoniyi netted the killer third goal late on was simply too obvious not to notice. The belief in this Tottenham team is fading, especially with this game, the sort which is season-defining on its own.

How have Spurs flatlined in the league so badly? It is now thirteen games without a win.

“For 44 minutes in the first half we were the better team,” said Bruno Saltor, Tottenham coach afterwards, with Tudor having to deal with a personal family matter.

'Mistakes'

”We cannot capitalise on the mistakes made by the opposition. The players are trying their best but it is not enough. Every small detail is against us but I have confidence we can turn it around.

“We need to fight to stay in the Premier League as it what this club deserves”.

That much is debatable right now.

Tudor had noted in the match programme of the need to capitalise on the feel good factor of midweek. An excellent, if ultimately futile, Champions League win over Atletico Madrid all assisted in the build up. Still, a stronger looking squad drew fresh hope – with players such as Conor Gallagher, Lucas Bergvall and Joao Palhinha on the bench, supporters had reason for optimism, despite Spurs’ precarious position above the drop zone. Such hope was to be short lived here.

Under sun splashed north London skies, a sense of defiance, dressed up as confidence brought the Spurs fans to life. Unlike recent weeks there was a more obvious, noisy, frisson in the air. There was nothing like a relegation six pointer against Forest to concentrate collective minds. If the fans played their part, then those on the pitch, eventually, did not.

Tudor may be temping by default in N17, and he was not around these parts to oversee the corresponding fixture – one of Spurs’ significant lowlights of the season – a 3-0 win at the City Ground for Forest back in December.

It is the evidence of stressed times for both relegation haunted clubs that they have burned through a number of managers in 2026-26. Tudor, viewed as something of a salvage expert with teams in trouble, and Vitor Pereira at Forest.

The positive vibes in the approach to kick off helped the hosts who were the more lively. Despite their promptings, they only had a Richarlison header which went a yard wide to show for it. The fit-again Brazilian’s late leveller in a crucial 1-1 draw at Liverpool a couple of weeks ago, was a deep boost to Spurs’ morale, psychological as much as a precious point in the end. How such optimism drifts away.

Tottenham were winning the midfield battles in the first half, but an inability to force a critical breakthrough was clear – and they paid dearly for it.

Forest dealt an unforeseen blow, completely against the run of play, as home fans were left in utter disbelief. A simple six yard header by Jesus from Murillo’s corner was sufficient to place the whole contest on edge at at odds with itself.

Foothold

Hints of sloppiness, though, crept into Spurs’ play, as Forest got more of a foothold into the contest.

That hesitance was exposed when the east Midlanders added a second goal in the 61^st minute.

Gibbs-White finished from close range from Callum Hudson-Odoi’s low cross from the left. Question marks over Vicario’s role will be noted, as he allowed the ball to squirm under him.

Tottenham were missing a badly needed spark to relaunch back into the game and display their earlier verve. Substitutions by Tudor made little difference amid the latter stages of a team lacking imagination and passing accuracy in the final third to rescue matters against a well-drilled Forest rear guard. Central defensive pairing Murillo and Nikola Milenkovic were steadfast all day long for the visitors. As moments ticked by, the sense of deja vu was becoming plainly obvious for Spurs, hope diminishing at an alarming rate in this, the most, critical of examinations.

The third came with three minutes remaining. Forest substitute Awoniyi nipped in to stab home a dangerously perfect Neco Williams cross. Spurs’ Kevin Danso really should have dealt with the danger but erred. Another abdication of responsibility from a player in lilywhite during this derelict campaign.

Indeed, abdication, plus physical and mental troubles, and a manager who cannot stem problems could yet be the ultimate undoing of this Tottenham side with seven games left to save their Premier League status.

Spurs: Vicario, Danso, Spence (Bergvall 46), Tel (Kolo-Muani 67), Gray (Gallagher 83), Romero, Solanke, Porro, Richarlison (Simons 67), Sarr, Van de Ven (Udogie 46)