Tottenham would probably have suffered the disaster of relegation from the Premier League if it were not for the decision to bring in Roberto De Zerbi for Igor Tudor, according to James Maddison and Conor Gallagher.
Spurs made the managerial change with seven games to go and the team in freefall after a run of one point from six matches under Tudor. De Zerbi rebuilt confidence and guided the club to survival, the 1-0 home win over Everton on Sunday ensuring that they finished above West Ham, who went down. De Zerbi's record shows he had three wins, two draws and two defeats.
“I am really happy for the manager, who has come in and steered the ship clear because without him it could have been doom and gloom,” Maddison said. “The appointment kind of saved the disaster from happening. Without that appointment, disaster could have maybe struck. But it didn’t and he takes a lot of credit for that.”
Gallagher added: “Like Madders said, thank God the new gaffer came in because he was the reason it turned around for the team and for me. From the first day or two he had everyone under his wing. Everyone trusted him instantly and everything he was doing. It was like: ‘Thank God he’s come in.’”
De Zerbi, who has lived with his backroom staff at the hotel at Spurs’s training ground, has made tactical tweaks. Under him, the team have pressed more effectively and forced more turnovers in the final third. He has fixed the midfield, using Gallagher to good effect as a No 10. But his biggest trick has been to restore the players’ self-belief.
Maddison also offered an insight into how De Zerbi has worked. “He’s just so passionate,” he said. “He’s been living at the training ground with his team. I go and stay there the night before every home game just to get a good night’s sleep. I’ve got too many kids and I can’t risk not getting a good night’s sleep. And he’s there at 9pm with all his staff. They’ve got the tactics board out. There’s six of them. It’s 9pm. We’ve already had like four or five meetings on each game. He’s just obsessed with football.”
