Igor Tudor was relieved of his press conference duties following Tottenham Hotspur's defeat to Nottingham Forest. The interim Lilywhites head coach was informed of an immediate family bereavement after the game, so Bruno Saltor spoke to reporters instead.
The Spurs assistant coach, who joined the backroom staff when Tudor replaced Thomas Frank last month, provided an update on his colleague. He said: "It's a personal family issue and obviously it's a difficult moment for him. I'm just trying to support the best way we can."
Igor Jesus fired Forest into the lead just before half-time. Morgan Gibbs-White doubled the visitors' advantage on the hour mark before Taiwo Awoniyi came off the bench to wrap up three crucial points in the race for Premier League survival.
Saltor felt as if his side crumbled under the pressure after going behind, knowing the significance of the tie. The Spaniard said: "The players got affected by the rhythm of the game and we couldn't find that rhythm to create more chances.
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"The first half, the first 44 minutes I thought were good, really good, creating chances, getting into the box. In the second half, probably, we were unable to deal with the weight of the game."
"I think in the small details, I thought for 44 minutes in the first half we were the better team," added Saltor, who held a similar role in the dugout during Graham Potter's spell in charge at Chelsea.
"And again, I think any mistake that we make, any small detail goes against us and we're not able to capitalise on the opposition's mistakes. And probably that affected the team.
"And that's our job as coaches, to keep helping the players. And as you can see, the players, they care and they are 100 per cent trying their best.
"But at the moment, it's not enough. We need to minimise any mistakes because we know that we're going to concede a goal."
Following Sunday afternoon's result, just a point separates Tottenham from West Ham in the relegation zone, with Forest climbing into 16th place. On whether Spurs can turn things around, Saltor said: "Completely.
"The best way to do it is focusing every day on doing your best, trying to be the best version of yourself, trying to push through difficulties, focusing on every action, not focussing on the end goal.
"It's just focusing and giving your best every day. That sounds a topic, but that's the only thing that you can do. And players, obviously, as us, we need to reflect on ourselves and try to get the best version because we need it now."
