Micah Richards believes Nuno Espirito Santo knew his time as Tottenham manager was coming to an end before the clash against Manchester United, after bemoaning that the players in his squad were not equally committed.
Nuno, along with his coaching staff, were dismissed by Tottenham on Monday following last weekend’s dismal 3-0 home defeat to the Red Devils.
The sacking means the Portuguese coach oversaw just 17 games for Spurs in a spell lasting four months in North London, after he signed a two-year deal in the summer.
Spurs did not stand still in terms of finding a replacement and have since appointed former Chelsea boss Antonio Conte as the new figurehead in the dugout.
The Italian took charge of his first game for the club on Thursday and guided the side to an entertaining 3-2 win against Vitesse Arnhem in the Europa Conference League.
While Spurs appear to be starting a new era once again, Nuno’s sacking has come in unsurprising circumstances, after he previously hinted that some of his Spurs stars were not showing an equal commitment to playing for the team.
In a press conference ahead of Spurs’ Carabao Cup tie against Burnley, he said (via BBC Sport): “I wish all the players were equally committed. That would be absurd to tell that is the reality, because the players have their own expectations.
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“These players have to go beyond. They have to make a conscious effort that he has to go again from the beginning of the week to change the opinion and the idea of the manager.
“This is how it works. In this industry, this is what the player should do. Unfortunately, it’s not what is always happening.”
Nuno’s comments particularly intrigued former Manchester City defender Richards, who believes the ex-Wolves manager had a feeling his time at Spurs would be coming to an end and claims the players simply ‘stopped pulling for him’.
Richards wrote in his column for the Daily Mail: “Nuno Espirito Santo must have known the end was coming last Friday, even before that final defeat against Manchester United. I say this because his press conference ahead of that game stuck with me.
“Nuno is not a manager who tends to make comments that generate headlines but it felt like he used his platform eight days ago to send a message to his successor.
“The message was clear. Nuno knew some of Spurs’ squad had stopped pulling for him and he was highlighting the situation that the new man could expect to walk into.
“It feels like there was a lack of leadership in their squad. Nuno’s comments led to people saying he had ‘lost the dressing room’. I hate that phrase.
“I found Nuno’s words fascinating and my instinct tells me it was likely that senior players were the issue. If it had been someone on the fringes who wasn’t committed, there is no way Nuno would have made it public.
He added: “Nuno suffered because, collectively, he wasn’t afforded respect by Tottenham’s squad and he wasn’t able to change that.
“He wasn’t first choice to replace Jose Mourinho and by all accounts, he wasn’t even second, third or fourth. Some players will have thought to themselves: ‘This isn’t what I signed up for.’
“Now that Antonio Conte is in the building there will be no excuses. Tottenham have done incredibly to get him because he is a manager who can genuinely stand up to Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp and Thomas Tuchel.
“He is a serious [manager] who will not tolerate anyone who isn’t trying.”
Spurs Web Opinion
The appointment was the wrong fit all-around, and I think everyone around Spurs knew that. Nuno, as much as he appeared to be a nice guy, didn’t look like he was inspiring anyone, let alone the players, so it was hard for them to muster up any meaningful performances.
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