Carragher warns Tottenham relegation would be ‘most embarrassing’ ever
Jamie Carragher has warned Tottenham that suffering relegation this season would be the "most embarrassing" in Premier League history as the club fights for survival.
The former Liverpool defender claims the north London side are "not too big or too good" to drop into the Championship following a turbulent 18 months.
Spurs currently sit just five points above the relegation zone, having narrowly avoided the drop by finishing 17th in the previous campaign.
‘Catastrophic’ decline
Writing in his column for the Telegraph, Carragher compared the club’s current plight to Manchester United’s historic demotion in 1974.
The Sky Sports pundit suggests the expensively assembled squad is showing signs of a team "on the verge of catastrophe".
"If they drop into the Championship it would be the most shocking descent of the Premier League era, and the most embarrassing for a club of such wealth and stature since Denis Law’s back-heel for Manchester City sent Manchester United into the old Second Division in 1974."
Jamie Carragher
He noted that third-bottom West Ham United recently secured a victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, highlighting the precarious nature of their position.
Carragher insists that while survival is usually assumed for clubs of this stature, the "dreaded R word" is now inescapable.
Tudor faces derby test
Igor Tudor was appointed as head coach earlier this month following the dismissal of Thomas Frank.
Frank had arrived in the summer but paid the price for the team’s poor form, leaving the Croatian successor with a remit to keep the club in the division.
Carragher acknowledged the scale of the challenge facing the new boss, pointing to a "prolonged dip" under previous managers.
"Analysing the quality of the squad Igor Tudor leads for the first time in this weekend’s North London Derby, the scale of the challenge is obvious."
While agreeing with the decision to part ways with Frank, Carragher remains concerned about how quickly the decline can be reversed.
Tottenham face local rivals Arsenal this weekend in a fixture that could prove pivotal to their top-flight status.