Igor Tudor’s candor made it clear he had no illusions about the job ahead after sacking Thomas Frank to take charge of Spurs until the end of the season.
And if there were any illusions left, they were banished by the ease with which Spurs were swept away by Arsenal.
Randal Kolo Muani’s vibrant equalizing goal offered some hope, but once his team fell behind early in the second half, the match virtually ended as a contest.
The home team never lacked effort, but this depleted team was no match for Arsenal, and the gulf in class between the teams was brutally exposed.
Tudor returns to the training ground with a real relegation fight on his hands as Spurs now find themselves in 16th place, four points clear of the bottom three.
This was a painful introduction for the Croatian and on this evidence there may be more pain to come before things improve, as they will have to.
