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How does Igor Tudor survive at Tottenham?

A woeful defeat to relegation rivals Nottingham Forest leaves Spurs above the Premier League’s bottom three by a point.

Tottenham’s near half a century stay in the top flight is under growing threat.

Victorious Nottingham Forest are on their fourth manager of the season with Vitor Pereira but Spurs may have to appoint their third to survive.

Tudor has lost five of his seven games after being appointed in February after Thomas Frank was sacked, having been hired in part for his positive short-term record at previous clubs.

If he does depart, Tottenham will have to decide whether to appoint another interim head coach or a permanent candidate with seven games left.

Sean Dyche, Ryan Mason and Harry Redknapp are among the names mentioned as possible replacements.

Spurs’ owners Enic have no intention of intervening, with the onus on chief executive Vinai Venkatesham and sporting director Johan Lange to decide the club’s direction.

It leaves Tottenham executives facing the decision of sacking a manager they only appointed just over a month ago, which may also raise internal questions on why Tudor was given the job in the first place.

Tudor has earned just one point from his five league games – including a 4-1 thumping by Arsenal – as well as being dumped out of the Champions League following the chaotic first leg at Atletico Madrid.

Tottenham have won just 30 points from 31 Premier League games this season – their joint-lowest return after 31 games of a league campaign, along with 1914-15.

They are winless in their past 13 league matches (D5 L8), which equals the second longest winless league run in their history dating back to 1912, with the record standing at 16 in 1934-35.

They must avoid setting a new record if they are going to survive, with relegation rivals West Ham’s 2-0 defeat at Aston Villa the sliver of hope needed on a wretched afternoon.

“I think it’s impossible for him to stay. I really do,” said Tottenham midfielder Danny Murphy told Match of the Day.

“I think it’s really difficult for the players to play in an environment that’s so deflated and toxic.

“The only way you can change that is either winning games which they’re not doing, or change a manager – what the fans want.

“If they keep him in charge – it’s five league games without a win. A new guy comes in, gets one win, all of sudden, it can turn quickly. I think it’s a risk worth taking and I think they’ll take it.

“The players don’t really look like they’re at it. They’ve had a couple of decent performances this week and maybe people thought that the corner had been turned, but confidence was low again after they conceded.

“He made two changes at half-time and that didn’t make them any better. If anything, they got worse as the second half went on.”

The former Juventus boss did not undertake the usual post-match duties having been informed of a family bereavement.

Bruno Saltor took Tudor’s news conference and believes Tudor and his coaching staff will get time, with three weeks until they travel to Sunderland after the international break.

“Yeah, of course, we feel the support of everyone at the club and we’re just focusing on how we can help the players,” he said.

Fans lined the Tottenham High Road to welcome the Spurs team.

Supporters scaled railings and sat on the top of bus shelters as their struggling side arrived to face relegation rivals Nottingham Forest.

The coach drove through a haze of blue and white smoke surrounded by thousands of fans as it crawled to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Protests had been shelved in recognition of the magnitude of the game, one which would have seismic repercussions on Spurs’ season.

Goals from Teddy Sheringham, Jurgen Klinsmann, Harry Kane and Heung-min Son were played on the big screens pre-game before Cristian Romero delivered a message: “We’ll fight for everything, all together.”

Just under 90 minutes later fans streamed out of the stadium after Taiwo Awoniyi scored Forest’s third.

They went from a parade to pointless. Tottenham are in deep trouble.

The players responded to the fans for 45 minutes. Igor Jesus hit his own bar, Richarlison pressed and harried and Mathys Tel produced one of his better displays.

Yet Igor Jesus’ header in first-half injury time – followed by Morgan Gibbs-White’s strike – increased Spurs’ relegation woes.

Gibbs-White, of course had to have a say in the game after his aborted move to north London last summer.

Spurs thought they had their man as they looked to trigger a £60m release clause, only for the deal to collapse and Forest to threaten legal action.

It was a prelude to the chaos and calamity that was to come this season.

Awoniyi’s late third sparked an exodus – some fans had already started leaving with 20 minutes left – and those who remained booed the team off.

The togetherness seen outside the stadium had evaporated, with Spurs fans only united in concern about the future.

“From Tottenham’s point of view, there was a lot of fighting spirit in the first half, encouraged by a jubilant crowd who wanted to support their team,” former Spurs and England goalkeeper Paul Robinson told BBC Radio 5Live.

“But, when you go to support your team like that you have to give something back, which didn’t last.

“In the second half they were tactically weak, they were devoid of ideas, and the manager changed the personnel two or three times, and there was nothing there today to suggest that they can get out of that mess.”

Xavi Simons’ relegation to the bench baffled seasoned Spurs viewers, following his best performance and two goals in Wednesday’s win over Atletico.

Tel was lively and hit the bar immediately after Igor Jesus’ opener but faded in the second half with Forest’s defence – expertly marshalled by Nikola Milenkovic – repelling everything.

Forest made their hosts wait on the pitch almost four minutes before emerging for the second half, Tottenham will have wished they had stayed in the dressing room.

“I don’t see a structure,” said Robinson. “A gameplan, or a way of playing. I don’t see a tactical idea.

Perhaps Celtic losing to Dundee United shouldn’t have been that surprising.

After all, there’s only been one weekend in this astonishing Scottish Premiership season in which the top three have all taken three points.

And given Hearts and Rangers both won on Saturday…

When people tell you this title race has had plenty of twists and turns, they aren’t underselling it.

This time last week, Celtic were made the bookmakers’ favourites to win the title after Hearts slipped up. Now, they trail the Tynecastle club by five points with seven games to go.

Might this latest setback for Martin O’Neill and his team prove terminal?

No side has ever won the Scottish top flight with as many as eight defeats. And Celtic’s tally of losses is now more than Hearts (five) and Rangers (two) combined.

They are 17 points worse off than this point last season, with a goal difference of 22 as compared to 72.

Celtic have put in similar performances this season to the one they delivered at Tannadice, but come away with three points. Think of the late wins at Kilmarnock and Livingston, or the narrow victory at Falkirk.

But against United, they looked beach-bound on a pitch that had more sand than grass.

The hosts created more, had more quality in the final third, and carried more of a threat. Celtic’s front three struggled all game.

“They couldn’t create anything,” said former Parkhead goalkeeper Pat Bonner. “They’ve no striker that can turn a game when they’re not playing well.

“I’ve seen it in the past, many a good striker that hasn’t offered anything in a game but they have that ability to get you a goal when you were struggling.

“That doesn’t seem to be there at the moment.”

Kelechi Iheanacho made his first start in the league since October, having had just one substitute appearance and a 35-minute League Cup final cameo in the interim.

Tomas Cvancara, who has started five league games since arriving in January, was ill. Junior Adamu, another winter addition, has started twice and been substituted at half-time in both.

Martin O’Neill had never lost in 20 previous matches against United before this. Another stat blown out of the water.

There’s plenty more to throw up. United hadn’t beaten Celtic by more than a single goal since 1990.

And Celtic’s 34 goals conceded is their worst ever in a Premiership season, and there’s seven games left.

“Of course, it’s a concern,” O’Neill told BBC Sport Scotland. “It’s a big blow to us. We’re beaten and, with games running out, we can’t really afford to do that, but we’re still in it.

“It’s been difficult since I’ve set foot in the place both times [this season]. Today is a blow but we’re not finished yet.”

But O’Neill has arguably never faced a task of this magnitude.

Celtic haven’t lost eight games in a season since the 1999-00 campaign. They’ve scored only 56 goals so far, their lowest return at this stage since 1994-95.

Celtic visit Dens Park in two weeks’ time – a ground they lost at earlier this season when Dundee were in disarray and Brendan Rodgers was still in charge.

After that, they host St Mirren. They’ve squeezed past the Paisley side 1-0 twice this season in the league, but the League Cup final loss at Hampden will haunt them.

Rangers, meanwhile, host United at Ibrox before a trip to Falkirk. As for the league leaders, Hearts travel to Livingston, then host Motherwell.

It’s impossible to say who has the easier games, given the unpredictable nature of this campaign. You’d have better luck picking the lottery numbers.

But Celtic must address the worrisome performances they’re now producing. There were plenty that foreshadowed the disastrous defeat at Tannadice, and they can’t afford another.

“Sometimes you just have to eat humble pie,” is how captain Callum McGregor summed it up in the post-match.

Newcastle say they will investigate after Sunday’s Tyne-Wear derby against Sunderland was paused following a report of racism towards visiting player Lutsharel Geertruida from someone in the St James’ Park crowd.

Referee Anthony Taylor stopped the Premier League match for three minutes in line with the competition’s on-field anti-discrimination protocol.

In the 52nd minute, with play already stopped as Newcastle player Sven Botman was receiving treatment, Sunderland captain Granit Xhaka ran over to speak to Taylor.

Moments later Taylor spoke to both sets of coaching staff, Dutch defender Geertruida and Xhaka before restarting the game.

The Premier League has said the incident will be fully investigated, while a Northumbria Police spokesperson said they are “aware of a report of discriminatory abuse”.

In a statement, Newcastle said: “We are aware of a report of racism made by a visiting player against someone in the crowd during our Premier League match against Sunderland.

“Our stance is clear – we do not tolerate discrimination of any form.

In a statement, Sunderland said: “We stand with Lutsharel, who has our complete backing, and we commend him for displaying bravery and leadership by reporting this incident to the match officials.

“Racism is completely unacceptable. It is abhorrent, and has no place in our game or in society.

“We acknowledge Newcastle United’s statement and expect those responsible to be identified and held accountable.

“There can be no tolerance, no excuses, and no ambiguity when it comes to incidents of this nature.

“Football must be a safe and inclusive environment for everyone – without exception – and we will continue to work with the relevant authorities to support that aim.”

Sunderland boss Regis le Bris, said: “He [Lutsharel Geertruida] looks OK. It is unacceptable and important to report and manage the situation properly. He looks OK, but we need to support him.”

While Newcastle’s Eddie Howe added: “We don’t condone racism in any form and the club will investigate.”

Newcastle were leading their Tyne-Wear rivals 1-0 at the time, although the match ultimately finished 2-1 to Sunderland thanks to Brian Brobbey’s late winner.

Meanwhile, police said they had made one arrest pre-game after reports there had been pockets of fighting.

The Prem

Leicester (17) 33

Tries: Moro, Liebenberg, Perese, Hamer-Webb Cons: Searle 2 Pens: Searle 3

Bristol (12) 19

Leicester climbed above fellow play-off hopefuls Bristol into third place in The Prem with a thrilling bonus-point 33-19 win at Welford Road.

The new Prem Rugby Cup winners were in their first league action since January and saw off a strong showing from Bristol to end the Bears’ five-game winning run in the league.

In-form Billy Searle pulled the strings from fly-half and his kicking helped make the difference in a seesaw encounter full of fast rugby.

Searle’s accuracy from the tee was impressive and the Tigers got their fourth try in added time when Gabe Hamer-Webb streaked clear in style.

Bristol, who fall to fifth in the table, last lost in The Prem in October but were up against it early as the Tigers made a fast start.

Leicester captain Ollie Chessum was among a host of internationals to immediately return after the Six Nations while Bristol gave England’s Ellis Genge, Wales star Louis Rees-Zammit and Scotland’s Tom Jordan a week off.

Joaquin Moro burrowed over from a metre out after a quick tap penalty and Hanro Liebenberg added Leicester’s second after a wonderful free-flowing attack took the Tigers from their own 22.

The Bears had been second best but then scored twice in two minutes to ignite the contest.

A fine run and handoff from Gabriel Ibitoye opened up Leicester for the first time and forward Fitz Harding was able to finish, before wing Kalaveti Ravouvou scored a superb individual try after bouncing off a tackle from Freddie Steward.

Searle kicked another penalty to stretch the Leicester lead but Bristol then piled on pressure with their pack and were rewarded with Harding piling over for his second score.

The conversion from James Williams made it 20-19 but the Tigers then raised their game.

Searle led a superb break from Leicester which would have led to one of the tries of the season only for Moro to spill the ball while flying over the line.

But Moro did then assist a pivotal score, teeing up replacement Izaia Perese to power over.

Leicester coach Geoff Parling:

“It didn’t feel like fun to me at times! At the end I was screaming [for them] to kick the ball out but they backed themselves to score the bonus-point try.

“I am proud of the lads. The internationals have been away for two months so they had to get back up to speed but their attitude was outstanding.

“We have to keep working. We’ll keep running and enjoy tonight.”

Bristol director of rugby Pat Lam to BBC Radio Bristol:

“We created enough opportunities to get more out of the game but we squandered them. We showed good fight but ultimately we ended up chasing the game.

“A lot of the boys are disappointed but we will get better. We had the attacking intent we all saw in the Six Nations, we made decisions to go which were right.

Leicester Tigers: Steward; Hamer-Webb, Wand, Bailey, Hassell-Collins, Searle, Whiteley; Smith, Blamire, Heyes, Liebenberg, Chessum, Moro, Watson, Cracknell.

Replacements: Theobald-Thomas, Van der Flier, Hurd, Thomas, Palmer, Van Poortvliet, O’Connor, Perese.

Bristol Bears: Heward; Ravouvou, Janse van Rensburg, Williams, Ibitoye, Worsley, Randall; Woolmore, Oghre, Kloska, Dun, Owen, Luatua, Harding, Mata.

Replacements: Gwilliam, Lahiff, Chawatama, Taylor, Grondona, Marmion, Moroni, Boshoff.

Betfred Super League

Hull FC (14) 24

Tries: Arthur, Sao, Litten Goals: Hardaker 6

Leeds (16) 16

Hull FC edged out Leeds Rhinos in a pulsating Yorkshire derby to claim their second victory of the Super League season.

An outstanding first 40 minutes provided 30 points as both sides took it in turns to take the lead.

Tries from Jake Arthur, Ligi Sao and Davy Litten – as well as six kicks from Zak Hardaker – meant the Black and Whites took the two points.

After Jake Connor kicked Leeds in front after five minutes, a beautiful line break from Hull’s James Bell allowed him to unselfishly set up Arthur to dive underneath the sticks and score against the side his father coaches.

Leeds then kicked the restart out on the full, for which Hull moved into Rhinos territory, and elusive play from Amir Bourouh at dummy half allowed Ligi Sao to crash over from close range for his first Super League try in two years.

The Rhinos’ discipline let them down when dissent towards referee Liam Moore enabled a kick within range, and Hardaker added two more points as the visitors’ deficit increased to 12 points after just 17 minutes.

But Rhinos were back in the contest eight minutes later when an inch-perfect kick from Lachie Miller found McDonnell on the move to dot down in front of the visiting supporters.

A stunning diving catch from Miller then continued a flowing move as McDonnell looked to get a second try in a few minutes, but he was stopped on the line by good scrambling defence from Hull.

Another delicate kick – this time from Ash Handley – then found Croft in space to dot down next to the sticks, and by the time Connor had added the extras the score was level at 14-14.

Just 60 seconds after half-time, Leeds’ Maika Sivo was penalised for taking out the marker and Hardaker slotted over to level the match once more.

And Hull edged themselves back in front moments later when Hardaker kicked a fifth goal in front of the sticks.

The home side extended their lead when John Asiata’s gorgeous grubber kick was collected on the bounce by Litten to dot down and Hardaker’s sixth successful kick made it a two-score match.

Leeds Rhinos boss Brad Arthur told BBC Radio Leeds:

“A bit of a reality-check isn’t it? Basically, we’re not as good as we think we are. Some of that ill-discipline is not what I want our club to be about and be part of.

“It was pretty embarrassing, some of the discipline in the second half. A lot of blokes just want to talk about the referee instead of doing their own job. Not good enough.

“It’s really disappointed me. We need to get to the bottom of it [the ill-discipline] and find that out on Tuesday [when the players return to training].

Hull FC: Hardaker; Briscoe, Romano, Litten, Martin; Cust, Arthur; Hill, Bourouh, Sao, Bell, Bailey, Asiata.

Interchanges: C Kemp, Fash, Laidlaw, Lisone.

Leeds: Miller; Sivo, Newman, Handley, Hankinson; Croft, Connor; Oledzki, Levi, Palasia, Watkins, McDonnell, C. Smith.

Interchanges: Holroyd, Jenkins, O’Connor, Bird.