Vinai Venkatesham interview: Tottenham need ‘complete reset’, says chief executive
This means nothing now, but Frank’s ill-fated reign got off to a pretty good start after his appointment last June. Tottenham lost just one of their first 10 matches of the season in all competitions.
But when Tottenham finally sacked Frank in February, the only surprise was that it didn’t happen sooner.
Indeed, Venkatesham and sporting director Johan Lange came under heavy criticism from fans for extending Frank’s tenure so long.
“There have been a lot of reports that the club was inactive during this period. And that is absolutely not true,” Venkatesham insisted.
Venkatesham said that when assessing Frank’s future, the club took into account results, the possibility of turning around the Danish player’s unsuccessful season, concerns about a change of manager in the January transfer window, the fixture schedule and concerns about entering the interim manager market.
Venkatesham confirmed to BBC Sport that Tottenham were trying to persuade De Zerbi, who left Marseille following Frank’s sacking, to become the club’s full-time head coach.
However, the Italian was initially reluctant to take the job mid-season, leading Spurs to appoint Tudor on the left wing, who left Spurs by mutual consent after just seven games.
“Obviously we were very disappointed when it became clear that we would not be appointing Roberto on a permanent basis [in February]said Venkatesham.
“At the time, we were in an interim market, which is generally not the largest. Igor was chosen for several reasons: he had thrived in very high-profile and high-pressure environments, and we didn’t want someone who would give up under that pressure.
“He has a history of making an immediate impact. He has managed big clubs. He has a very different personality to Thomas and we felt something different was needed.
“But of course we were aware that he had no Premier League experience. Was it a risk to appoint him? Absolutely.”
Asked whether it was a mistake to accept Tudor’s appointment, Venkatesham said: “It didn’t work. It clearly didn’t work. And I don’t think that’s out of the question. I don’t think anyone would argue anything else.”
