The FA announced on Friday that Tottenham’s current head of academy coaching and player development John McDermott, is to leave the North London club in June to take up the role of assistant technical director at St. George’s Park.
McDermott spent 15 years at Tottenham in charge of the academy and youth player development, during which time he oversaw the rise of several key players.
Harry Kane, Harry Winks, Nabil Bentaleb, Andros Townsend, Ryan Mason, Tom Carrol, Jake Livermore, and more went on to bridge the gap between the academy and the first-team, during his tenure.
It comes as no surprise that several of these stars have taken to social media to thank the academy coach for helping with their development and insisted that he would be a massive loss for the club.
Here’s how the likes of Townsend, Bentaleb, Carrol, Mason and others reacted to the news that McDermott is set to leave Spurs:
The best out there!!! A great servant for 15 years at our club, will be a huge miss! Thankyou https://t.co/vhytnDdaKP
— Ryan Mason (@RyanMason) March 20, 2020
— Andros Townsend (@andros_townsend) March 20, 2020
Forever greatfull to this man.
Thank you John for helping me become the man I am today. ? https://t.co/D7bCjISHGm— Nabil Bentaleb (@nabilbentaleb42) March 20, 2020
This will be a huge loss to the club.. https://t.co/oPwfHr7Xhb
— Tom Carroll (@tom_carroll92) March 20, 2020
Owe This Man My Life…❤️ https://t.co/dLgqoQn2DA
— Shaq Coulthirst (@ShaqCoulthirst) March 20, 2020
Spurs Web Opinion
The reaction from these players shows how instrumental McDermott was in their careers. He has also been pivotal in the development of the likes of Oliver Skipp and Japhet Tanganga, both of whom I expect to become first-team regulars in the next season or two. Let’s hope McDermott’s loss doesn’t hurt our academy too much and that the processes he’s put in place continue to provide top talents for the first-team.