Tottenham face decision over Igor Tudor after humiliating defeat deepens crisis

Pereira said: “He deserves the national team but it’s not my decision. I respect it but he has the quality and the character to be there.

“He is a fantastic player. He is a little bit sad and disappointed in this moment but these are the moments in our lives when we need to be stronger and come back to the fight.”

Forest have been in this situation before, experiencing three scraps against the drop in four seasons since their promotion in 2022.

Last season’s stirring campaign under Nuno Espirito Santo, with the team eventually finishing seventh, has been the outlier from the norm.

Could their previous dances with danger prove the difference in this year’s relegation scrap?

This is certainly a new experience for Tottenham. Despite their difficult season there was a clear sense of unity and it was not until the end that the atmosphere threatened to become remotely toxic.

There was also a pre-match video on the screens which included a rousing message from captain Cristian Romero who said “we’ll fight for everything, all together.”

Tottenham must now consider whether keeping Tudor in charge damages their chances of scrambling to safety.

After signs of encouragement against Liverpool and Atletico Madrid, they were the better team here in a scrappy first-half.

Mathys Tel was a frequent menace on the left and Tottenham were almost handed a 16th-minute lead when Forest’s forward Igor Jesus headed a huge Kevin Danso throw against his own post.

Yet it was Jesus who provided the pivotal moment on the stroke of half-time, forcing a save from Guglielmo Vicario with a hooked shot on the turn.

From the corner, the £16.5m signing from Botafogo was unmarked in the middle of a busy penalty area to nod Neco Williams’s delivery into the opposite corner.