Tottenham reality clear as ‘crazy’ verdict shared pre-Atletico Madrid
Tottenham Hotspur face Atletico Madrid in the Champions League round of 16 on Tuesday evening.
The clash will be a welcome distraction for Igor Tudor as he gets a chance to free his mind of the impending relegation danger.
The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium side sit 16th in the Premier League, one point above the drop zone with nine matches left to play.
Tottenham fans may well not care about the clash at the Wanda Metropolitano on 10 March, though, as their survival is the most important thing at the moment.
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What is Tottenham reality ahead of Atletico Madrid clash?
John Wenham believes that Tottenham would rather not be in the Champions League at this point, as all of their eggs need to be in the top-flight survival basket.
Speaking exclusively to Tottenham News, he said: “We’ve got this Atletico Madrid game coming up this week, I mean, that’s just something we’d rather be out of.
“It sounds crazy because we’re not going to be in the Champions League for a number of years by the looks of things.
“It’s actually a really exciting time, but the reality is that it’s a game that we don’t need, we need to be focusing on staying in the Premier League.”
What should Tottenham’s priority be for the rest of the season?
A deep run in European competition would probably boost the morale around the N17 club, but it will not take away relegation fears.
Tudor needs to prioritise the league, and he may even be tempted to rest players for the game against the Spanish side, for the clash with Liverpool at Anfield at the weekend.
That would be a sensible decision as they need to take as many points as possible in the league, and they have a really difficult schedule remaining domestically.
They still have to face the Reds, Chelsea, Leeds, Brighton, Everton, Sunderland and Aston Villa, while also playing fellow relegation contenders Wolves and Nottingham Forest.
Relegation would be a disaster for the North London side, so while reaching the next round of Europe’s premier competition would be nice, it should not be their main objective.
Many fans would probably accept elimination, so that all focus can be on retaining their status as an established side in the division.
Summer Focus: Survival contingent
Risk: £250m hit if relegated
Long-term: Maddison, Kulusevski
Date: Tuesday, March 10
Candidates: De Zerbi, Keane, Redknapp, Dyche