Igor Tudor defends handling of Antonin Kinsky substitution

Igor Tudor has defended his man-management skills and revealed he hugged Tottenham goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky during half-time of Tuesday’s 5-2 thrashing at Atletico Madrid.

Tudor’s reign slipped into crisis territory after Spurs conceded four times before the midway point of the first half of their Champions League last-16 first leg in Madrid.

Back-up stopper Kinsky had already been withdrawn by that point, with the Czech youngster taken off in the 17th minute after two poor errors and Tudor was condemned for a failure to even acknowledge the 23-year-old as he left the pitch.

Yet, ahead of Sunday’s trip to Liverpool, Tudor explained: “When you do that substitution after 15 minutes, the coach loses in both cases.

“First case, because you put him in so everyone says, ‘why are you doing this? You killed the guy’. If you don’t, you are taking risk to concede one or two more goals.

“So, I took the decision after thinking and if I needed to, I would do the same again. It was an act of helping to preserve the guy and to preserve the team.

“Why didn’t I go to give him a hug? Because maybe he was angry. Maybe coaches do the things to avoid this scene and to get a situation worse than it was.

“Sometimes it is better to stay there and we hug each other at half-time. At half-time we speak and nothing (more), the situation happened there. It finished there.”

Asked if he did give a shell-shocked Kinsky a hug at half-time, Tudor insisted: “Of course.”

Tudor confirmed during Friday’s press conference that first-choice Guglielmo Vicario would “be in the goal” at Anfield, but backed Kinsky to have the “strength and quality” to bounce back.

It has been a chastening week for Kinsky but various people at the club have rallied around him, including Spurs’ first-team assistant goalkeeping coach Dean Brill who was one of the first to run down the tunnel following Kinsky’s midweek substitution.

However, all eyes will be on Kinsky’s team-mate Vicario at Anfield.

“He (Vicario) is good. He wasn’t dropped. Never. Why has he been dropped? It was Toni in the goal for that game, normal situation,” Tudor insisted.

Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust described Tuesday’s result as a “total disgrace” and demanded a refund for fans out in Madrid.

Tudor apologised immediately after the 5-2 loss, but explained: “This is an issue for the club.

“Manchester City lose 3-0. Chelsea lose 5-2. Every Sunday there are big defeats and every time you need to refund the money? Where will football be going?”

Tudor would not be drawn on whether £51.8million playmaker Xavi Simons would be on the bench for a third consecutive match.

Tudor said: “The reasoning is I choose what I think is best for the club.

“In this moment, I choose different players. That doesn’t mean he won’t play at Liverpool.

“Maybe he will play. A good player, an important player for us. There’s a lot of games to play.”