Former Spurs midfielder and assistant coach Gus Poyet has admitted that Nuno Espirito Santo might not get much time to implement his style of play at Tottenham if the results do not improve soon.
Nuno has certainly had an eventful first few months in charge of Tottenham. The Portuguese coach was put in the unenviable position of addressing the speculation over Harry Kane’s future in the summer and did his best in batting away questions.
Spurs then began the season with three straight 1-0 wins, which took them to the top of the table. However, the momentum quickly wore off as they fell to three back-to-back losses against Crystal Palace, Chelsea and Arsenal, conceding nine goals in the process.
That saw the pressure mount on Nuno, with reports even claiming after the North London derby loss that the 47-year-old was fighting to save his job.
The 2-1 win over Aston Villa ahead of the international break revealed some pressure on the Spurs boss.
However, there still seems to be issues behind the scenes, with Football Insider alleging this week that some senior Tottenham players are unhappy with the Portuguese coach’s methods and his man-management.
Poyet insisted that Nuno deserves time to imprint his philosophy on the Tottenham side but admitted he might not get it.
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He told talkSPORT (12/10/21 at 12:30 pm): “I think he needs time, Nuno. He needs time. He needs to know the inside of the club.
“He needs help from outside. He did very well with a system that he is probably trying to adapt at Tottenham.
“I am not sure he is going to go back to the back three.”
When asked if Nuno will be given time, Poyet responded: “I am not so sure. It’s a problem, especially if you want to make an input in your style of play.
“When I went to Sunderland, it was no time. It was results, so the identity next year. Brighton was different. But it depends what they are looking for.”
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Barring a disastrous run of form over the next couple of months that sees us fall a long way behind the top six, I believe Nuno will be given until the end of the season to prove himself.
Spurs fans will remember that even Pochettino took more than six months to put his own imprint on the side and it would be unfair on Nuno to expect him to change things straight away.
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