Ex-Tottenham midfielder Jamie O’Hara has slammed the attitude and mentality of the Spurs squad and believes they “haven’t got the stomach for a relegation fight”.
In a passionate analysis of Spurs' plight, O'Hara laid bare the team's issues following Sunday's dismal North London derby defeat to Arsenal.
The 4-1 home loss leaves Tottenham 16th in the Premier League and just four points above the drop zone with 11 games left.
Without a league win in 2026, relegation to the second tier of English football for the first time since the 1977/78 season is now a real possibility.
New boss Igor Tudor will target a first win in charge as Spurs go to Fulham on Sunday, live on Your Site, but O'Hara has brutally assessed the issues facing the Croatian and what Tottenham have to fix if they are to preserve their ever-present Premier League status…
He told Your Site News' Fan Club: "I was expecting a bit of a manager bounce. Arsenal had a couple of sticky performances against Wolves and Brentford, so I was expecting the team to go into this game with a high attitude, a bit of passion, fight, relentless pressing, and not letting easy crosses in the box.
"[It was the] complete opposite. It was miles away from where I thought it was. I know there's injuries, but the attitude of the players is my biggest concern. The attitude to defend, to run, to compete, to not concede goals. That for me is basic 101, and then you can talk about creativity, whether we're good enough, whether we've got the players, the formation, but the basic defending, basic mentality of a football club.
"When you're down at the bottom, when you're fighting for results, Spurs haven't got it. They have not got the stomach for a fight, and it was evident in that Arsenal game, and it was actually embarrassing.
"I couldn't believe what I was watching because, having been a player myself at Tottenham, one thing you do first and foremost is fight and don't let people get the better of you.
"Arsenal got the better, and I know they're a better team, but they're getting better of you on the pitch in every way, running, defending, just everything about it. I couldn't believe it."
Spurs are on a nine-game winless league run and have won only two top-flight matches in the last four months.
O'Hara said: "As a player who played in situations where you're down in the dumps, first and foremost, 20 minutes, track runners. Don't let your man get the better of you. Don't let him run past you.
"And that is a mentality. That is not about ability. That's not about talent. That is a mentality and a culture at a football club where players are like, 'Nah, I don't want to do that. I pass him on.' What do you mean, pass him on? It's the first 15 minutes of the game.
"I went and done the clips this morning. It took me five seconds to see the clips because I knew. First 15 minutes of the game, you're passing players on, you're not tracking runners. It was embarrassing. Forget talent. Forget creativity.
"Xavi Simons, you are in a relegation fight. You're in a fight. You've got to play like you're in a relegation fight. None of these players are playing like they're in a relegation fight.
"Passing on, tracking runners, not getting back, allowing shots on the edge of the box. Embarrassing."
He added: "The biggest worry I've got is the stomach for a fight. These players that we've brought in, I think their heads are down, they're looking at an excuse, 'Oh, the board's not doing this, we've not signed anyone'. Yeah, I get all that, but you have got to find a way as football players to get yourselves out of this hole, and that's what I'm worried about, because I don't know if they have.
"I don't know if they're looking at the exit door before actually the job is done, and the job right now is to stay in the Premier League."
Spurs have been outrun in their last five Premier League games, while this season they rank bottom for high turnovers, meaning they are losing the ball near their goal more than any other team.
"That just confirms my argument," O'Hara said. "That is shocking. That's relegation form, because if you don't run, if you don't track runners, if you give the ball away in your own area and you're allowing people to get on top of you and press you, you're going to lose the game.
"They haven't got the stomach for a fight. When you're in it as a player, there's a different set of skills when you're down at the bottom of the table. But saying that, look at Arsenal, look at the pressing, their running, the way they'll go after teams.
"Spurs don't even want to run. They're passing players on. That's what matters. That's what counts when you're at the bottom. That's how you get results. They're not tracking runners. They're not getting tight. They're not dying on the pitch.
"You can't have Newcastle running nearly six kilometres further than you. Arsenal, in the North London derby, when you're fighting for everything, they're running four-and-a-half kilometres further than you as a team.
"It's embarrassing. And that, for me, is a culture and a mentality at a football club which is in disarray. These players do not want to run. They don't want to fight. They want to pass players on. They want to make it easy.
"They want to turn up in the Champions League, and you're playing Copenhagen, and you want to play nice football, and Xavi Simons, little flicks and tricks, all that rubbish.
"But when it matters in the Premier League, when you're fighting for points, they haven't got the stomach for it. That's what I've noticed, and that's what needs to be addressed, and it needs to be addressed quickly, because Spurs will go down.
"The teams down the bottom, West Ham, Nottingham Forest, they'll run. They'll fight. They'll scrap, because they know they're in it. They've been in it before. Spurs don't want to be in it. Players don't want to be in it. They want to be in the Champions League, playing nice football.
"They're in a relegation fight, and that for me was the biggest thing that I've noticed, especially in the Arsenal game, how embarrassing it was to see. Forget the creativity. Forget the chances that you can create because you've got some decent players, that right there [points at running stats], is why Spurs are in big trouble."
