In football, interim managers are hired on a short-term deal to bring back momentum to a club and, if necessary, get the club out of trouble. On most occasions, this does indeed happen. However, there are times when this doesn't occur and the club either stays the same or gets even worse.
The latest example would be that of Igor Tudor at Tottenham.
Tottenham Hotspur have parted company with head coach, Igor Tudor, by mutual consent after just 44 days in the role; the club confirmed on Sunday.
Tudor was only appointed last month and won just one of his seven matches as Spurs slipped closer to the relegation zone.
The 47-year-old replaced Thomas Frank on a short-term basis and was initially mooted as a possible permanent candidate but his sole victory came against Atletico Madrid - which wasn't enough to avoid exiting the Champions League round-of-16, 7-5 on aggregate. They are currently in 17th place in the Premier League, one point above the bottom three.
Tudor's final game in charge was last weekend's 3-0 home defeat to Nottingham Forest, shortly after which he was informed of the death of his father, Mario.
Sources have said that Tudor was given time to process that bereavement before both parties decided the best move was for Tudor to move on.
The club said in a statement: "We can confirm that it has been mutually agreed for head coach Igor Tudor to leave the club with immediate effect. "Tomislav Rogic and Riccardo Ragnacci have also left their respective roles of goalkeeping coach and physical coach."
"We thank Igor, Tomislav and Riccardo for their efforts during the past six weeks, in which they worked tirelessly. We also acknowledge the bereavement that Igor has recently suffered and send our support to him and his family at this difficult time."
The decision comes a week after a damaging 3-0 home defeat by fellow strugglers Nottingham Forest on 22 March - a result that left Spurs 17th in the table and only one point above the relegation places with seven games remaining.
Tottenham have suffered five defeats in seven matches in all competitions since Tudor succeeded the sacked Thomas Frank on 14 February; on a deal until the end of the season.
The woeful defeat by Forest heightened Spurs' fears of suffering their first relegation from the top flight since 1977 and proved to be the final game of his brief spell.
The single point which Spurs have collected since Tudor's appointment is the fewest of any side in the Premier League during that time. They have been bottom of the form table since mid-December.
They are without a victory in 13 league matches since a 1-0 triumph over Crystal Palace on 28 December - 88 days ago - while their last win in any competition was over Eintracht Frankfurt on 28 January.
He departs Tottenham as one of only six managers to take charge of at least five Premier League games and fail to record a win.
Among the reasons given for Tudor's appointment was to introduce more attacking football, following criticism of their style of play under Frank.
Spurs did average slightly more shots per game under Tudor (11.6) than Frank (11.1) but they regressed in other metrics including: goals scored (0.8, down from 1.4); expected goals (1.0, down from 1.1) and touches in the opposition box (21.0, down from 24.3).
Tudor's Tottenham had the third lowest xG across Premier League teams during his tenure - and only three teams managed fewer big chances. Defensively, they faced the fifth most shots, fourth most shots on target and conceded the second most xG.
Only Burnley and Newcastle faced more big chances (17) than Spurs (16), while only Burnley (167) allowed more touches in their own box (161).
Tudor's time in north London was certainly eventful, here is a timeline of events:
14 February 2026: Tudor replaces Frank as Spurs boss
Three days after Tottenham sent Thomas Frank packing, Tudor was appointed as his replacement, agreeing a deal to coach the club until the end of the campaign.
According to the Spurs hierarchy, the Croatian's record in stepping at short notice to deliver an upturn in results, as he did at Juventus and Marseille, made him the right man to get Spurs out of their malaise.
"Igor brings clarity, intensity and experience of stepping into challenging moments and producing impact," sporting director Johan Lange said. "Our objective is straightforward -- to stabilise performances, maximise the quality within the squad and compete strongly in the Premier League and Champions League."
Tudor arrived with the club 16th in the Premier League table and having won two of their previous 17 matches in the competition. The timing of his arrival gave him a week to work with his new squad ahead of the north London derby.
Tudor said: "It is an honour to join this club at an important moment. I understand the responsibility I have been handed and my focus is clear. To bring greater consistency to our performances and compete with conviction in every match."
Later, in his first news conference as Spurs boss, Tudor was asked if he's enjoyed his first week at the club and replied: "No, I didn't enjoy it. Because I'm here not to enjoy. I'm here to work."
22 February 2026: Tottenham 1-4 Arsenal
Tudor's first task could hardly have been any tougher as Mikel Arteta's table-topping Arsenal side headed across north London seeking to boost their title aspirations and deepen their archrivals' relegation fears. Spurs were level at the break thanks to a player Tudor had worked with at Juventus, the on-loan Randal Kolo Muani but the visitors were by far the better team in the first half.
A sobering second 45 made it clear the scale of the task at hand as Eberechi Eze and Viktor Gyökeres terrorised the injury-ridden Spurs team.
Tudor said afterwards: "Arsenal are now probably the best team in the world at this moment. If we were thinking today that it's a derby and we can give something more, more mentality and more motivation, the reality is that there are things you can't change in 3-4 training sessions. It's impossible. So this was not a perfect team to play in the first game, but we need something good and today shows me the level."
"There is a big gap between the two teams, too much Arsenal for us. But it is nice to understand where we are -- a game to show the reality. It's nice for one point of view to understand that we must change habits, change state of mind. It's the only way to work."
1 March 2026: Fulham 2-1 Tottenham
While the Arsenal defeat had perhaps been expected, the away loss to Fulham that followed began to set alarm bells ringing within the Spurs fanbase.
Tottenham were shambolic in defence with Harry Wilson giving the hosts a controversial early lead before Alex Iwobi's sweet strike had them 2-0 up at the break. Richarlison's second-half goal restored hope for Spurs but, in reality, they were second-best for much of the afternoon and Fulham manager, Marco Silva, bemoaned the fact his side hadn't won by a bigger margin.
Tudor said: "The problems are much bigger. It's a complicated situation. A lot of problems, I cannot tell you nothing new. Nothing new. We need to find the voices inside each of us."
"I said to the players, 'it's always what you're going to do, what you want to do with yourself,' you know? More personality, more wish to do before reacting, a lot of things."
"We lack when we attack, we are lacking the quality to score the goal, we are lacking in the middle to run and we are lacking behind to stay there to suffer and not concede the goal. So, an amazing situation."
5 March 2026: Tottenham 1-3 Crystal Palace
It all seemed set up for Spurs to record a galvanising victory when Dominic Solanke gave them the lead in a game that had been considered winnable before kick-off. A calamitous nine-minute spell in which captain Micky van de Ven was sent off and Crystal Palace scored three goals was enough for much of the fanbase to start calling for Tudor to be replaced after just three games in charge.
Spurs supporters were seen leaving the ground in their droves before the half-time whistle and those that stayed filled the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with boos - a common theme this season.
Tudor's post-game comments in which he said he "saw something" in the performance that made him "believe more after this game than I believed before" did little to change the mood music.
What Tudor said: "I don't think in that direction [that he might be sacked]. I have my job to do and that's all."
"Of course I understand the fans. It's a normal thing that happens in football. They are disappointed. They wanted more. We are aware of that. We also wanted to give more. Unfortunately this is the moment that we pay everything. One red card change everything."
"I will tell you now maybe it will sound strange, but I believe more after this game than I believed before. I saw something. I need to choose the right guys because the boat is going in the direction that I want to go and needs to go and who is in the boat can stay. Otherwise they can bow down, or how do you say that, leave the boat."
"So, when the other players will come back and choosing the right [players], I'm sure we will have a good team and the victories will come back. It's not easy to accept the moment where we are now but it is how it is."
10 March: Atlético Madrid 5-2 Tottenham
The fourth match of Tudor's tenure had many saying they had seen things that they'd never seen before on a football pitch and not in a good way.
In one of the most bizarre moments of the season, Spurs conceded three goals in the opening 17 minutes of their Champions League round-of-16 first-leg tie at Atlético Madrid. The first came after goalkeeper Antonín Kinsky, starting in place of the dropped Guglielmo Vicario, slipped over to gift the hosts the chance to take the lead.
Then, Van de Ven also slipped, allowing Antoine Griezmann to run through and finish into the bottom corner. Less than a minute later, Kinsky made a mess of an attempted pass out wide and presented the ball to Julián Álvarez who tapped home into an unguarded net while the goalkeeper covered his face while lying on the pitch.
Incredibly, with the game just 17 minutes old, Tudor then decided to replace Kinsky with Vicario and subsequently decided not to offer any form of consolation to the distraught Kinsky.
Widespread criticism poured in for Tudor's handling of the situation, including from former Manchester United goalkeeper, Peter Schmeichel, who said he thought the decision to replace Kinsky in that moment was "going to have ramifications for the rest of his career. He's absolutely killed his career."
Spurs did salvage some pride when winning the second leg at home but the 3-2 result was insufficient to overturn the first leg deficit.
What Tudor said: "I've been coaching 15 years and I've never done that. It was necessary to preserve the guy, preserve the team. It was an incredible situation."
"Before the game, it was the right choice to do. It was the right decision for me. After this happened, of course it's easy to say it wasn't the right decision. He's a good goalkeeper. Unfortunately it happened with these mistakes, in a big game. We are fragile, we are weak."
15 March: Liverpool 1-1 Tottenham
After four straight defeats, expectations were low as Spurs headed to Anfield but Richarlison's nous in Premier League relegation battles came to the fore as he earned his team a crucial point.
The north London club looked set for a seventh successive defeat after Dominik Szoboszlai's first-half free kick but Spurs were vastly improved from their midweek outing and Richarlison's injury-time equaliser felt a just reward for their display.
It was Tudor's first point since taking over and appeared to offer a blueprint for the team's Premier League survival.
What Tudor said: "It's a long way to our goal, which is to stay in the Premier League, still a lot of games to play, but today was important to show what they showed today, independently of the result."
"When you are honest, you need to be honest, give everything, then the football will give you back. That was my words before the game, so this happened today."
18 March: Tottenham 3-2 Atlético Madrid
Spurs carried their momentum from the draw at Anfield into the round-of-16 second leg and came away with an admirable 3-2 win. They exited the competition 7-5 on aggregate but the result felt like it could be a turning point.
Xavi Simons put in arguably his best performance for the club since joining from RB Leipzig last summer and bagged a brace. It was the first win of the Tudor era and a much-needed morale boost for the team and fanbase heading into a crucial 'six-pointer' against Nottingham Forest.
What Tudor said: "It's nice, the sensation and feelings are mixed, of course. We are out, but it was a sensation of one very good team on the pitch, one very good performance of the players, the energy was very nice."
"From the first moment, the fans recognised that the team will try to do everything they can do, so from the first moment until the last moment, they were with us, it was beautiful."
22 March: Tottenham 0-3 Nottingham Forest
Any hopes of a renaissance were emphatically put to bed in Tudor's third and final home league game in charge - a defeat that marked the third time Spurs had conceded at least three goals when losing in front of their own fans.
This time, though, the home side failed to make a telling impact themselves, leaving this result as the most galling of Tudor's league outings in north London.
By taking the three points, Forest leapfrogged Spurs in the table, leaving Tudor's side 17th and just one point above the relegation zone.
The Spurs manager did not speak to the media after being informed of a "personal family matter" after the match. It was later confirmed that Tudor's father had passed away.
Assistant coach, Bruno Saltor, spoke to reporters in his place, saying: "You can see the players, they care and they [are] 100% trying their best, but at the moment it's not enough and we need to minimise any mistakes because we know we are going to concede a goal."
"The first 44 minutes, I thought were good, really good... Second half, probably we were not able to deal with the weight of the game."
Also Read: 17 Minutes In Hell
As of this writing, Roberto De Zerbi has been appointed the new manager on a 5 year deal. This hasn't been well received.
Opposition to Roberto de Zerbi being named Tottenham head coach is growing among official fan groups because of his controversial support of Mason Greenwood.
The Tottenham Hotspur Supporters' Trust held an emergency board meeting on Monday night and has now contacted the club to say it can't support the appointment.
Spurs have confirmed former Brighton and Marseille boss De Zerbi as Igor Tudor's replacement on a five-year deal.
The Supporters' Trust told BBC Sport that it had received "a lot of e-mails from supporters" lodging complaints.
Ali Speechly, co-founder of Women of the Lane, said her group also opposed the appointment and she will stop attending matches over the issue.
De Zerbi has said Greenwood "paid in a strong way" after leaving Manchester United for Marseille after charges against him, including attempted rape and assault, were dropped.
Now, De Zerbi faces a battle to be accepted as the team fight to preserve their Premier League status.
Greenwood was seen as one of United's most promising young players when, at the age of 20, he was arrested in January 2022. All charges against the former England international were dropped in February 2023.
Greenwood left Old Trafford to continue his career, initially on loan at Getafe before joining Marseille in July 2024 in a deal worth up to £26.6m. The transfer was agreed 19 days after De Zerbi was appointed as boss of the Ligue 1 club.
It was controversial in the French city. The mayor, Benoit Payan, said that signing Greenwood was "unacceptable" and he did not want the club "to be covered in shame."
Also Read: The City Of Marseille vs. Mason Greenwood
Marseille went ahead with the signing, and the 24-year-old has scored 47 times in 74 appearances across all competitions. Alongside Paris St-Germain's Ousmane Dembele, Greenwood was Ligue 1's joint top scorer last season with 21 goals.
The comments, which have angered many Spurs fans, were made in November.
Before a Champions League game against Newcastle, De Zerbi was asked by an English journalist how things had been for the striker off the pitch. "I don't want to get involved in anyone's private life. I don't even get into the private lives of my children, because I want to give everyone their freedom," De Zerbi told a pre-match news conference.
"All I can see is that Mason seems a good lad, he paid in a strong way for what happened. He has probably here found the right environment for him, which gave him affection, and held out its hand to him. When I look at him as a person, I feel sad for what happened in his life, without getting into the details. Because the person I know here is very different to the one that has been described, especially in England."
De Zerbi is accused of downplaying the allegations and painting Greenwood as a victim.
The messages from Spurs' various supporters associations spoke of a desire to avoid a character like De Zerbi. 'Proud Lilywhites', Tottenham's official LGBTQ+ group, said: "When someone in that position publicly defends a player like Mason Greenwood, and frames it in a way that downplays the seriousness of what happened, it matters, not just in isolation but in what it signals."
"We are proud of the progress that's been made in making football more inclusive and welcoming. That progress matters, and it cannot be compromised or treated as secondary. We are not asking for perfection. We are asking for accountability, transparency, and leadership that reflects the values this club claims to stand for. All together, always. That has to mean something. No to De Zerbi."
'Women of the Lane', the fans' association for women, and 'Spurs REACH', their race, ethnicity and cultural heritage supporters' association, echoed similar sentiments with that one clear message - 'no to De Zerbi'. It shouldn't be seen as weak or contrarian to not want your football club to have a manager who has acted in this way.
It's a shame it didn't work out for Tudor. Not every manager can be successful. The loss of his father just adds salt to the wounds. I was expecting a slight upturn in results. To me, the lowest point came in those 17 minutes in the Champions League.
It's never a good idea to hire someone that others disapprove of. Supporters will constantly protest the appointment until that person is gone. De Zerbi must provide positive results for a change of attitude.