James Maddison has praised Roberto De Zerbi’s role in helping Tottenham Hotspur avoid relegation from the Premier League this season.
Spurs narrowly avoided dropping to the Championship after defeating Everton 1-0 in their final game of the season, which condemned West Ham United to the drop.
De Zerbi arrived at the club in March and oversaw a remarkable improvement, as the North London club climbed out of the bottom three to finish 17th on the standings.
Maddison, who recently returned to action from an ACL injury he suffered during preseason believes the former Brighton manager played a major role in helping the club avoid relegation.
“Since he’s come in, he’s been brilliant,” Maddison said.
“Without him coming in, there is a serious possibility that we would have gone down.
“He switched the mindset, he switched the passion. The passion he shows every single day rubbed off on the players and I think you could see that in the last few performances.”
Tottenham Hotspur began the season with Thomas Frank in charge, but he was dismissed in February, with Igor Tudor taking over on an interim basis.
That appointment proved disastrous as they picked just a single point from five matches in the league and also suffered a quarter-final exit to Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Champions League.
“Yes, maybe we could still be better in terms of quality in some of the moments we were producing. But the passion and the intensity just switched”, Maddison added.
“I never questioned the group’s mentality. I didn’t see a group who weren’t willing to try, it just needed Roberto to come in and fine-tune it and get it out of some of the players. And he managed to do that, so big credit to him.”
Tottenham Hotspur will be hoping for a better campaign under De Zerbi next season, after finishing in 17th place for the last two campaigns.
Olakitan is a young writer with a strong passion for sports, having gained experience with IndyPress and Nimelssa Press. His enthusiasm for sports inspired him to cover events both within his school and beyond. With a deep understanding of the game and a refined skillset, he brings sports coverage to a broad, global audience in a way that’s engaging and accessible.
