'Two wins in the last 16!' - Tottenham could be dragged into relegation battle admits Guglielmo Vicario as goalkeeper criticises club's 'tough conditions'

Bryan Mbeumo and Bruno Fernandes scored the goals to hand Michael Carrick his fourth victory in as many games as United showed their opposition that the grass can be greener in a comfortable home victory. Thomas Frank has been under immense scrutiny in north London for a desperately poor set of results, particularly in the Premier League, which leaves the club in 14th spot.

Spurs have been abject at times under the Danish coach and many suggest that his time in charge could be facing an early termination should performances remain poor. With Newcastle and Arsenal making up their next two opponents in the division, there is a chance that the club slip further and further down the table and towards danger.

The nerves around the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium were eased only slightly by last week’s draw with Manchester City and the Spurs faithful will be getting twitchy seeing the sides below them earning wins when they have just two victories in the last 16 games.

The threat of relegation for Spurs is a reality, and one Vicario is refusing to rule out. The Italian is adamant that they do not want to become complacent and get dragged into a scrap amongst the likes of West Ham, Nottingham Forest, Leeds and Crystal Palace.

After Saturday's loss to United, Vicario was asked if the club was in a relegation battle. He replied: “It depends how you see things in life. The reality is that in terms of results we have struggled a lot.

“Two wins in the last 16 is not acceptable for this football club, but we don't have to forget how we are trying to push ourselves in tough conditions. This is the reality.”

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West Ham’s victory over Burnley on Saturday afternoon tightened the gap on Spurs and the rest of the sides above them. The teams between 14th and 18th are tightly compacted and separated by just six points, with a poor run between now and the end of the season likely to cost one of those sides a place in the English top flight next season.

Wolves and Burnley appear all but relegated, but there remains one spot open for a straggler. The Hammers are the form team of the clubs battling at the bottom, winning four of their last five games in all competitions – their only defeat coming against London rivals Chelsea in dramatic circumstances.

Leeds came out victors against Forest on Friday in a relegation six pointer and have a strong home form at Elland Road which should see them able to keep their heads above the parapet. Sean Dyche’s Forest have work to do and are only three points clear of the drop, but have been okay in recent weeks.

Palace and Spurs are the two sides facing the biggest uphill battle to build momentum. The Eagles began the season remarkably and underwent a lengthy 14-match unbeaten run, but have seen their performances are results fall of a cliff. Their task has not been aided by the departure of captain Marc Guehi.

Newcastle make the trip down south on Tuesday night as the Magpies look to compound the misery on Thomas Frank. The Dane could be shown the exit door if results remain stagnant and, as Vicario is well aware, staving off the threat of relegation proves too tough a test for the former Brentford coach.

North London is split desperately and there could not be a greater divide between Arsenal and Spurs this season. Spurs’ bitter rivals appear to be running away with the Premier League title and Mikel Arteta will delight at putting the final nail in Frank’s coffin should the Spurs boss remain in the job that long.

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