Credit: Imago

Richie Mills

Wed 25 February 2026 15:46, UK

Jamie O’Hara has “breathed a sigh of relief” after seeing Igor Tudor’s Tottenham in training as he spotted Stuart Lewis part of the coaching set-up.

Tottenham appointed Tudor as interim boss until the end of the season after sacking summer appointee Thomas Frank two weeks ago.

The Croatian appeared to have a quiet optimism about him ahead of the North London derby but that may have been severely tested after losing 4-1 to Arsenal at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.

Spurs were taken apart by Mikel Arteta’s Premier League leaders, while the north London team slumped to 16th in the table – just four points above the bottom three.

But ex-player O’Hara thinks positive results are just around the corner, partly due to some of the backroom staff surrounding Tudor.

• Read more: ‘Igor Tudor to threaten Tottenham stars with summer sale after Arsenal humiliation’

Jamie O’Hara singles out Tottenham coach for praise

When former Juventus boss Tudor came on board at Tottenham, the 47-year-old brought some familiar faces with him.

They included Ivan Javorcic as his assistant, Riccardo Ragnacci as the new physical coach, and Tomislav Rogic was tasked with working with the goalkeepers, among others.

While the likes of assistant coach Justin Cochrane, head of performance Chris Haslam and analyst Joe Newton headed out the exit door, first-team/academy transition coach Lewis remained.

And O’Hara thinks Lewis (who was promoted from the academy last summer), in particular, will be very important for Tottenham going forward, despite their lowly league position and nine-match winless run.

He said on Sky Sports News on Wednesday after watching a training session: “It shows to me that he’s got people around him at that club who have been there for a long time.

!So that breathes a sigh of relief a little bit, that he’s got people there who know what it means to be at Tottenham. Stuart Lewis knows what it means to be at Tottenham.

“He was there for a long time. There always used to be Ryan Mason there, didn’t there? Stuart is very similar to Ryan Mason. Ryan Mason played for Tottenham at the highest level, but I played with Stuart in the youth team.

“I played for Stuart up until the reserve team. Stuart was a very good player. He went and had a decent career in league football, but he took up the coaching.

“I’ve heard he’s a damn good coach. He knows his stuff. He’s highly rated there. He’s been around the 21s and the 18s for a long period of time.

“So, for him to be looking like what it seems to me that he’s very much a part of Igor Tudor’s first-team squad is a breath of fresh air, actually. I’m really happy for him and his family.”

O’Hara was then asked how many points Tottenham will pick up ahead of a trip to Fulham and a home clash with Crystal Palace over the next 10 days. The former Portsmouth man said: “Six”.

• Read more: Tottenham figures in talks over ‘worrying trend’ as ban called for after Arsenal scenes

The thorn in Tottenham’s side that may derail their season

Some of the positivity coming out of O’Hara may dissipate if Tottenham’s injury issues continue for their last 11 games of the Premier League season.

Indeed, they have been without arguably two of their best attacking players in James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski for the entire season.

They may not return until next campaign, by which point, Tottenham could be relegated. They are also currently without midfielders Lucas Bergvall and Rodrigo Bentancur, while wingers Wilson Odobert and Mohammed Kudus are also on the sidelines.

While defenders Kevin Danso and Pedro Porro could return to action away at Fulham on Sunday, Tottenham need their fit players to raise their game.

Tottenham haven’t won in the league since 28 December, when Spurs won 1-0 at lowly Palace. They will need quite a few more wins in the coming weeks to secure their survival.

For more on Tottenham’s bid to stave off Premier League relegation, head over to Football Insider.