ANDRE VILLAS-BOAS claims Tottenham’s relegation woes are due to sacking too many managers and using “totally different methods”.
are 18th in the with six matches left and in danger of going down for the first time since 1977.
Roberto De Zerbi lost his match as Spurs managerCredit: Shutterstock Editorial
Andre Villas-Boas has criticised the club’s managerial recruitmentCredit: Getty
Since left the club in December 2013, there have been eight permanent managers and four interim bosses in North London, with Italian now charged with keeping them up.
Villas-Boas, 48, said: “It’s a real shock.
“You saw the evolution over the , from the training ground to the stadium, becoming a major brand.
“Probably, eight managers in five years doesn’t help because all of them are very, very different to one another.
“Different methods, different ways of selecting players. So, this leads to instability as well.
“They’ve changed managers, the leading structures, and also sports directors.
“So, in eight years, you’ve had totally different methods, totally different ways of thinking, totally different ways of implementing philosophies.
“And probably that has led to the instability right now, which adds to the pressure of being in the relegation zone, and that pressure is second to none.
“They’re really in a difficult place. I can’t say what is the best solution for them.
“De Zerbi has to deliver results. It’s a long-term contract anyway. If they go down, they can be back up because they have the infrastructure, quality of players and the resources to do it.”
Villas-Boas says his old club – he was manager at between June 2011 and March 2012 – “have changed the landscape” by handing long-term contracts to most of their top stars.
The President said: “We can’t say that they’ve done poorly. They’ve done it abruptly for sure, but they delivered success to their fans last year by winning the .
“They’ve brought the best talents in the world back to Chelsea. Probably too much at the same time.
AVB is now the president of PortoCredit: EPA
“It’s mindblowing in reality what they do in the transfer market. They do have a lot of talent in their squad. They do grab the best talent.
“Unpredictability and instability has always been the trend at Chelsea in reality, between coaches.
“It’s probably the only club in the world that has three finals having changed the manager during mid-season.
“Chelsea has always lived recently in this unpredictability and they have always delivered success.”
Villas–Boas is a member of and says there have been talks to try and dilute the Premier League’s spending muscle.
The Portuguese administrator said: “The gap is growing more and more. I think this is something that worries everybody.
“It’s something that worries , worries its members, and we are definitely looking at it.
“We have raised discussions about it and I’m sure those will continue if we see this kind of dominance going into the future in the different competitions.”
++ The 2026 Laureus World Sports Awards will be staged in Madrid on Monday April 20. For details visit www.laureus.com
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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