Igor Tudor says his Tottenham players are not fit enough and has questioned their desire to put in the hard yards without the ball.

The interim head coach has a clearer idea of the problems he faces after two weeks – and there are many of them, including low levels of confidence and the capacity of the younger players to handle the pressure of a relegation battle.

Tudor knows there are reasons for the physical issues with the squad stretched by an injury crisis amid a punishing schedule. Although Pedro Porro and Kevin Danso are in contention to return for Sunday’s trip to Fulham, Tottenham will be without eight injured players plus the suspended Cristian Romero.

Tudor believes there is only one way out of the situation – an on-the-hoof fitness reboot in training, particularly as the club had no midweek fixture last week or this. The Croat surprised the players by working them extremely hard throughout last week and not tapering off before last Sunday’s home game against Arsenal, which they lost 4-1. As Tudor made plain, it is not a time to pander to player sensibilities.

“Physically, we are not in an amazing situation,” Tudor said. “They...