Leeds United are 15th in the Premier League table, but are only four points clear of the relegation zone. They are in a major dogfight with three other teams to avoid the drop.
West Ham’s defeat at Aston Villa on Sunday kept them in the bottom three. However, Nottingham Forest pulled off a big 3-0 win away at Tottenham to push Spurs to the brink.
The north London club are just a point and a place above the relegation zone and could be in the bottom three by the time they kick off after the international break.
Tottenham have not won a game this year, and have gone 13 Premier League games without a victory. There are question marks over whether interim boss Igor Tudor will be back after the break.
Former Leeds coach Gus Poyet offers himself to Tottenham
Gus Poyet was the assistant manager to former Leeds boss Dennis Wise in League One before holding various other coaching positions at different clubs.
The Uruguayan played for Tottenham and was the assistant to Juande Ramos at Spurs, where he won the League Cup in 2008.
He is prepared to answer the call if Tottenham offers him the job and believes they can get out of trouble if certain players are featured in their right position.
Poyet said on talkSPORT: “The players need something, but I think it’s simple.
“Play the players in the right position and just play. I’m trying [to come back to England to manage], no chance at the moment, not even meetings.
“I can’t say no [if offered the Spurs job], I have to trust my ability, no doubt.”
The former Spurs star pointed out that he kept Sunderland up previously from a worse position and believes he can keep Tottenham in the Premier League.
“I’ve already done it with Sunderland, I was in a worse position, I was seven points adrift, and we stayed up, don’t ask me how, but we stayed up.
“From looking outside [of Spurs], yes, [I could keep them up], but then from inside is when you find a problem.”
Daniel Farke cannot depend on Spurs and others to keep imploding
Defeats for West Ham and Tottenham on Sunday meant Leeds ended the weekend exactly where they started — 16th in the table and still four points clear of the relegation zone.
But with things so tight at the bottom, there’s no margin for error. Daniel Farke has already suggested they may need around seven more points to be safe.
Premier League Bottom Six – Relegation Battle
| Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | Leeds United | 31 | 7 | 12 | 12 | 37 | 48 | -11 | 33 |
| 16 | Nottingham Forest | 31 | 8 | 8 | 15 | 31 | 43 | -12 | 32 |
| 17 | Tottenham Hotspur | 31 | 7 | 9 | 15 | 40 | 50 | -10 | 30 |
| 18 | West Ham United | 31 | 7 | 8 | 16 | 36 | 57 | -21 | 29 |
| 19 | Burnley | 31 | 4 | 8 | 19 | 33 | 61 | -28 | 20 |
| 20 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 31 | 3 | 8 | 20 | 24 | 54 | -30 | 17 |
With home games against Wolves and Burnley, along with a trip to Tottenham still to come, those fixtures will be seen as crucial in their push for survival.
They can’t keep relying on other results going their way — sooner or later, they’ll have to take matters into their own hands.
