"Insomnia from relegation fears for three months": Gallagher reveals 'grim internal situation' before De Zerbi's arrival... "If the new manager hadn't come, we would have been doomed"

*This content was translated by AI.

Tottenham mainstays Conor Gallagher (26) and James Maddison (30) have revealed the dire internal situation of the team, which was on the brink of relegation until Roberto De Zerbi (47) took over as manager.

The UK's "The Sun" reported on the 25th (Korean time), citing interviews with the two players, how Tottenham overcame its worst crisis under De Zerbi and successfully avoided relegation from the Premier League.

The media stated, "For Gallagher, life at Tottenham before De Zerbi arrived was close to hell. Although he joined Tottenham from Atletico Madrid in January for a transfer fee of 35 million pounds (approximately 70.8 billion won), the manager who signed him, Thomas Frank, was dismissed in less than a month."

It further added, "His successor, interim manager Igor Tudor, used Gallagher, a central midfielder, as a makeshift winger and then completely excluded him from the starting lineup. The team plummeted toward the relegation zone."

Gallagher endured severe drops in confidence while bearing the brunt of fan criticism. He confessed that he had not been able to sleep soundly for three to four months due to the fear of relegation.

However, De Zerbi, who came in as a firefighter with seven league matches remaining, completely changed the atmosphere. Tottenham secured three wins in their final five matches, including a 1-0 victory over Everton. They then won the final match against Everton, dramatically securing their survival by relegating London rivals West Ham United.

Gallagher's turnaround began with the Brighton match, where De Zerbi deployed him as an attacking midfielder. De Zerbi showed Gallagher a YouTube video of his past performances himself, helping to restore the player's shattered confidence.

Gallagher expressed gratitude, stating that De Zerbi completely changed him and the team, and reaffirmed his determination to return to the England national team.

Maddison, who sat on the bench for most of the season due to a preseason knee injury and missed the final three matches, also praised De Zerbi as a savior. Maddison said the team would have been doomed without De Zerbi and highly evaluated his unique passion.

According to Maddison, De Zerbi stays at the training ground, conducting analysis meetings with six coaches on tactics for four to five times per match until 9 p.m. Quoting the manager's words, "There is no water flowing in me, but blood," Maddison emphasized that the manager's passion saved the team from disaster.

The biggest problem that plagued Tottenham this season was a severe injury ward. Key resources including Maddison himself, Mohamed Kudus, Dominic Solanke, Cristian Romero, Rodrigo Bentancur, and Guglielmo Vicario were sidelined one after another for extended periods. In particular, Dejan Kulusevski did not play a single minute this season due to a "strange injury" sustained during a challenge with Mark Guehi in May last year.

The media reported, "Maddison dismissed conspiracy theories that the retractable grass at the home stadium was the cause of injuries, but urged the club to thoroughly investigate the root cause of the astronomical number of injuries."

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.