As thousands of Tottenham fans streamed out of their stadium at half-time on Thursday, no-one could have been in any doubt about the threat of relegation.

After taking an early lead against Crystal Palace, three goals for the visitors in 12 first-half minutes - sparked by a penalty conceded and red card for Micky van de Ven - condemned Igor Tudor's side to another miserable defeat.

Spurs remain the only Premier League side without a victory in 2026. Their 11-match winless league run is the club's longest since 1935, when they went 15 games without winning.

But Tudor - who has lost all three of his matches in charge - insists the team are moving in the right direction and will survive relegation.

"I will tell you now, maybe it will sound strange, but I believe more after this game than I believed before. I saw something," said Tudor.

"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 leave the boat.

"When players come back I'm sure we will have a good team and the victories will come. It's not easy to accept the moment where we are now - but it is how it is."

'It feels like they have given up'

With nine matches to go, Spurs remain one point above the relegation zone and in real danger of losing their Premier League status for the first time.

When the Spurs players returned early from the dressing rooms for the second half, the number of empty seats was significant as many supporters headed home.

The fans who remained until the end met the final whistle with loud jeers, with supporters last experiencing a Premier League victory at home against Brentford on 6 December 2025.

"Anxiety was all through the stadium," former Chelsea and England winger Joe Cole said on TNT Sports. "The whole performance was tepid.

"There was no bite and no anger and the fans were feeling that. It feels like they have given up.

"It looks like the fans are disillusioned, disenchanted and not believing it."

When Tudor was appointed as interim boss last month, he said Tottenham "100%" wouldn't go down. It would take a brave person to say that now.

"Of course I understand the fans [leaving]. It's normal, they wanted more," said the former Juventus manager.

Tudor refused to be drawn into conversations about his future after full-time despite questions already being raised about whether he would see out the season.

'More likely than not to go down' - Spurs fans have their say

Tottenham's position is precarious at best and the underlying numbers are no better.

The team are without a win in the Premier League since 28 December and have only led for a combined 13 minutes in matches since 7 January.

Since Tudor's appointment, Spurs are bottom of the league in terms of goals conceded, goal difference, xG conceded, xG difference and points.

As things stand, only Wolves (20) have lost more home Premier League games than Tottenham (19) since the start of last season.

And they have conceded at least two goals in nine straight matches for the first time in their history.

Spurs fan Chris Cowlin told BBC Radio 5 Live: "I'm lost for words over what I've seen tonight. You want fight, desire and most importantly points.

"It is too much for a lot of people and this is the reality that Spurs might get relegated.

"When we moved to this stadium in 2019 it was meant to be a game-changer for us, the springboard for success and always competing for top honours. I've never known a time like this.

"We've gone through so many managers since moving to this stadium - six permanent managers and four interim appointments. Spurs have gone round in circles."

Outside the stadium, Tottenham supporters told BBC Sport the club were "in their worst moment in history" and "were more likely than not to go down".

One fan blamed Tottenham's form on the players, saying "there are too many egos" and "the players are still living off that high of the Europa League and sleepwalking to relegation".

Another added: "Nottingham Forest and West Ham have got fight and grit. We don't have any of that."

One supporter said the board's failures in the transfer market was the main culprit, pointing to a lack of goalscoring options and a failure to cover Tottenham's many injuries.

One of the Premier League's traditional 'big six', Tottenham haven't been relegated since 1976-77.

Ten months ago, they won the Europa League and, despite being 16th in the Premier League table, are in the Champions League last 16.

Since promotion from the Second Division in 1949-50, they have spent just one season below the top flight (1977-78).

But none of that guarantees anything right now. Tottenham's next Premier League game is at Liverpool on 15 March. They still need to play fellow strugglers Forest, Leeds and Wolves. And they need points.

"Tottenham have not got many games left but they need to find a concoction and some understanding to go get some results over the line," former Crystal Palace striker Glenn Murray told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"It is ridiculous to think of them sacking [Tudor] after three games after seeing what the players have ultimately produced.

"Sacking the manager after three games is an admission that he was the wrong man in the first place."

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