A report has shed light on the big changes Roberto De Zerbi made to how Tottenham Hotspur trained after he replaced Igor Tudor as head coach.
De Zerbi took over Spurs at a time when they had gone winless in the Premier League for more than three months.
However, the Italian managed to instil confidence into a group of players who had looked completely devoid of belief and masterminded a huge turnaround.
James Maddison has revealed that Spurs may have gone down if not for De Zerbi’s impact, and a new update has shed light on what the 46-year-old did differently to his predecessors.
Roberto De Zerbi’s emotional intelligence helped win over Tottenham players
The Daily Mail have revealed that De Zerbi brought a ‘bright and breezy’ attitude to training, which was ‘the perfect antidote’ to what the players had experienced under Igor Tudor.
The report claims that several first-team players had a ‘sense of impending doom’ under Tudor, whose abrasive manner was viewed as demeaning to some and further depleted the confidence of the players.
It is explained that while De Zerbi also gave a few dressing-downs to the squad, it was few and far between compared to his predecessor, with the Italian’s messages always aimed at motivating the players to give their all.
The report says that the positivity brought by the 46-year-old is just what everyone at Tottenham needed, with his emotional intelligence being seen as a ‘key factor’ in getting the players believing they can stay up.
De Zerbi was obsessed with keeping Spurs in the Premier League
The Mail explain that while the new Tottenham boss always encouraged players to enjoy the one-touch, two-touch drills and possession during training, he also brought an energy and passion that galvanised the squad.
While De Zerbi put an arm around the players who needed it, he was relentless in his efforts to get his ideas across to the squad.
He regularly made effective tactical tweaks to enhance performances, and it is revealed that he sometimes even put up the tactical board again at 9 pm at the Spurs lodge to go over the changes after already having four or five tactical meetings earlier in the day.