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.
With nine matches to go, they remain one point above the relegation zone and in real danger of losing their Premier League status for the first time.
The thousands of empty seats were telling. The fans who remained until the end met the final whistle with loud jeers as belief of survival appears to be draining from them.
“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 Croat, whose has lost all three of his matches in charge.
“I need to choose the right guys: Who is in the boat and who will leave the boat.”
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.
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.”