HOW?! Gus Poyet can't work out Tottenham's impressive Champions League form as Spurs legend dismisses 'rubbish' relegation battle excuses & says they're in 'big danger' now

Tottenham once formed part of controversial Super League discussions, with positive progress off the field - following a move into their stunning new home - expected to be mirrored by results on the pitch. That has not been the case.

Ange Postecoglou did bring a 17-year wait for major silverware to a close when savouring Europa League glory in 2025, but also oversaw a 17th-place finish in the Premier League and paid the price for that humbling fall from grace with his job.

Thomas Frank has come and gone since then, with Igor Tudor now filling the role of interim head coach. He has suffered three consecutive defeats at the start of his tenure, leading to more uncomfortable questions being asked of the direction in which Spurs are heading - as they sit just two places and a solitary point above the relegation drop zone.

Ex-Uruguay international Poyet spent three years with Tottenham between 2001 and 2004. He is as baffled as anybody by the inconsistency currently being endured by supposed heavyweights in the English capital. Spurs may still be in the hunt for another continental crown this season, but they are in serious danger of losing their top-flight status on home soil.

Quizzed on whether Spurs can still consider themselves to be ‘Big Six’ and Super League worthy, Poyet - speaking in association with Casino Guru, a site known for helping Americans find the best casino payouts - told GOAL: “No, they are not. They are not. And I never expected that team, with those expectations of the top six, that show in the European competition that they should be a top six team, being so bad in the Premier League. 

“I tried to analyse a lot. I even went in the last few months into details of the characteristics of the players. Meaning, is it that the characteristics of the players, they are better suited for European games than for Premier League games? You know, that kind of analysis, because there has to be a reason why you can perform so well. Fourth in the Champions League group. Fourth from 32! OK, how is it possible you are 16th in the league? Is it that bad, the Champions League? Is it really bad?”

Poyet added on the predicament that Spurs find themselves in: “The situation is very simple now. Danger. You know, a month ago I said ‘OK, it's not nice’, but now danger. Big danger. And they need to use this game against Atletico Madrid, or these two games, to find something to bring into the Premier League. 

“If they don't, you know, because people think ‘OK, it's a different competition’, but the head is the same. The dressing room before the game today, the players, they are in the same mind that they were at the weekend. It's not like, ‘oh, we're going to relax now and play’. Because if that happened, that they can play differently today to what they played in the Premier League, then it's worse. Because then you know why it's a problem. 

“So it's, can we do something in these games to get the motivation and that extra thing that people say, I hate this word, but the confidence. For me, confidence is, I'm playing at my level, seven, all the time. And then the confidence is when you do an overhead kick and they put it in the top corner. But playing at seven all the time, you're a Premiership player. Don't give me that rubbish of, I'm not confident today, I'm a four. No, my friend, then you are not a Premiership player. I don't like that word but what I want to see is mental. Mental side.”

Spurs will face Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 encounter on Tuesday. A return date with La Liga opposition at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is due to take place on March 18, with a trip to Anfield to play Liverpool being sandwiched between.

With big games coming thick and fast, with so much riding on each passing fixture, a potentially make-or-break home date with fellow basement dwellers Nottingham Forest will be taken in on March 22.