Adi Hutter has made an interesting admission about being linked with the Tottenham Hotspur job prior to the club’s appointment of Roberto De Zerbi.
While the Italian coach has not had the start he would have hoped for to his spell at Spurs, who fell to a 1-0 loss at Sunderland in his first game in charge.
However, the Lilywhites are seemingly happy with their decision. Tottenham’s sporting director, Johan Lange, has made it clear that De Zerbi was always the club’s top target.
The 46-year-old has committed to a five-year contract, and additionally, De Zerbi has also guaranteed that he will be in charge of Spurs next season, even if they get relegated.
Adi Hutter reveals he did not want to be a firefighter at Tottenham
Before De Zerbi arrived through the door, some outlets suggested that Spurs had held talks with Adi Hutter, who has been out of work since parting ways with Monaco last October.
The experienced manager has now revealed that he had no intention of being involved in an immediate relegation battle at this stage of his managerial career.
The 56-year-old told 90 Minuten: “It’s true that you have to process being released from your contract. You have to reflect on why it happened that way and what you could have done better. That takes time. What I absolutely dislike is playing the role of a firefighter.
“Before I went to Monaco, I could have stepped in as a firefighter in England, but I declined. When you arrive somewhere where things are in crisis, you never have the opportunity to develop your playing philosophy in ten or twelve games. You have to adopt a completely different approach to coaching and management. That was never what I wanted.”
Hutter admits it was an honour to be linked with Spurs job
While the Austrian did not actually confirm if Tottenham approached him, he has directly addressed the speculation linking him with the North London club.
Hutter admitted that it was ‘an honour’ to be linked with jobs as big as the Spurs one.
When asked about the speculation, the former Monaco boss said: “I’ve been linked with Lazio and Tottenham Hotspur. Of course, I could say: It’s an honour to be a topic of discussion with these clubs.
“I’m not the type to broadcast every inquiry, every discussion. That’s not my style, and I don’t think it’s fair to the clubs. I understand every club that doesn’t want to have to moderate a coaching discussion. That’s why such matters are always discussed internally.”