Former Tottenham midfielder Sandro has reflected on the club’s decision to appoint Roberto De Zerbi and has made an optimistic prediction on what the Lilywhites can achieve next term.
Everyone associated with Tottenham breathed a huge sigh of relief when the Lilywhites managed to avoid relegation by two points on the final day of the season.
It appears that the club have certainly reacted to the major warning shot, with Spurs atypically doing their summer business early after coming so close to disaster.
The Tottenham hierarchy have promised fans they are committed to getting the club back where they belong, and one former Spurs man believes they have found the right man to get them there.
Sandro praises Tottenham hierarchy for Roberto De Zerbi appointment
Some eyebrows were raised when De Zerbi signed a five-year contract with Tottenham a little over three months ago, with many wondering why the Italian would risk taking over at the club, given their predicament at the time.
However, Sandro believes that the North Londoners made the smart move by bringing the 46-year-old through the door before the end of the season, suggesting that they may not have been able to get him had they waited until the summer.
The former Tottenham star told Flash Score: “The most important thing here is to have De Zerbi, to have the guy that has a plan. I think Tottenham did that, did their early business, by signing De Zerbi.
“Everybody in the media was saying, ‘oh, a five-year contract’, blah, blah, blah… if they go down… but Tottenham made a very clever move, because having De Zerbi now, it’s… wow! If Tottenham had waited to go and get De Zerbi now, it would have been impossible to sign him as the manager for Tottenham after the season.
“He would probably have signed with another club. So, we have De Zerbi now, we have the idea, the style of play, and now it’s just getting the players, but the most important thing is that we have a style now.”
Sandro says Spurs can finish in the top four next season
While there is some optimism at the club due to the impact of De Zerbi, expectations at Tottenham will be low next season, given that the club are coming off two back-to-back 17th place finishes.
However, Sandro believes that we could see a huge improvement from the Tottenham team during the upcoming campaign, suggesting that even a top four finish may not be out of the club’s reach.
When asked what should be Tottenham’s aim next season, he responded: “Well, it’s a good question because we could be in the Top 4! We could. Because what Tottenham is and because of what Tottenham has already, but it is a long shot! Let’s focus on rebuilding. Rebuilding the squad, giving time for the players to arrive and rebuild. I think we can put a target of two years to be back in the Champions League.
“Yeah, I said this when De Zerbi signed, because there were a lot of people asking me because they knew about my connection with De Zerbi, and I said, guys, you’re going to love De Zerbi… So we need to be behind him, but everybody will love him.
“He has got a great heart. He’s the right one for Spurs, the right coach for us, and he will give us so many good memories in the years ahead. So just trust in him, but this season will be better. It will be much better than what he did in the seven games at the end of last season.”