Gary Neville says it would be the "shock of the century" if Tottenham were to be relegated from the Premier League, though he believes they have enough to avoid the drop.
Spurs suffered a heavy 4-1 defeat to Arsenal in Sunday's north London derby, with Igor Tudor making a losing start at the club.
Eberechi Eze and Viktor Gyokeres both scored twice for the Gunners, with Randal Kolo Muani scoring Spurs' lone goal, though he also had a second ruled out for a foul on Gabriel Magalhaes.
Only Wolves (10) have lost more home games in Europe's big-five leagues this season than Tottenham (eight), with Spurs remaining the only winless team in the Premier League in 2026 (P9 D4 L5).
Their latest loss leaves them 16th in the table, just four points above the relegation zone after 27 games played.
The Opta supercomputer only gives Spurs a 4.4% chance of dropping into the Championship next season, with their most likely finishing position currently 16th (25.2%).
And though Neville expects them to remain in the Premier League, he acknowledged that they are very much in the relegation fight.
"Tottenham are in trouble," he said on Sky Sports. "Last season, they really skirted with it a little bit, but they were always clear of it, and they were managing the Europa League games and just getting enough points. You never really felt they were going to go down.
"This season, they've got some real work to do, and they better do it quickly. I watch West Ham, I watch Nottingham Forest, and they've got something about them that you think they're going to pick up points.
"It's not going to be the case that Tottenham can just sit there and think that this is just going to happen – they're going to have to work hard to get out of this mess.
"It's unthinkable. But on the football side of it, they've underdelivered for a number of years, they've never found the formula to get it right, and this is the second season on the trot that they're in this type of position.
"It's not a fluke anymore. This is a pattern of what you are, and it would be the shock of the century. It would be absolutely mind-blowing to think that they could disappear out of this league, but I don't think they will.
"They've shown an attitude against Arsenal for 55, 60 minutes. They were just beaten in the end by a better team. They have shown a little bit of ruggedness that they will need.
"But when the cameras are off, and they're playing against the team in mid-table next week and the week after – and maybe it's a little bit less motivation because of the fact of what the fixture is – are they going to be as rugged, as dogged, as hardworking and as pressurising?
"They're going to need to be. Because if you're just a few per cent off it in this league, you will get done."