Acting Tottenham Hotspur head coach Cristian Stellini gathered his players for a clear-the-air meeting on Friday before insisting the club is not in crisis and nothing needs to change.
The comments may worry supporters who are upset by the current situation at Tottenham, as the club attempts to cling on to a top-four place without a permanent manager, with the managing director of football Fabio Paratici banned and Harry Kane’s future unresolved.
Stellini’s task after taking the job until the end of the season, following the departure of Antonio Conte, is to bring stability to Tottenham and he attempted to do that by addressing his players and letting them share their views.
Conte’s last act as Spurs head coach was to rip into the players following the 3-3 draw at Southampton, branding them “selfish” and not wanting to play under pressure.
“We met this morning with all the team,” said Stellini. “We spoke all together. The players are in the dressing-room all together. All together, they can speak but it was important to speak together because everyone needed clarification and I needed to clarify the situation that happened in the last week.
“We were in contact during that week and the players were away with their national team and focused on their matches, but obviously also on what happened here. Now we have met, we spoke and we clarified everything. I felt the players are ready to be together and to fight together like a proper team.”
Asked if he agreed with Conte’s post-Southampton assessment, Stellini said: “He said what he felt in that moment and it is not important if I agree or not. I am here. There is a line between what I did in the past as an assistant and what I do in this moment.
“Now I focus on this moment and it is not important what happened. If I have to think about the past, I miss something important for the future. I don’t want to miss anything for the future. I draw the line in the moment they call me and say now you are head coach. This is only what Antonio said in that moment and how he felt.”
Tottenham are still seeking clarity from Fifa on its decision to extend Paratici’s ban in Italy across the globe and refused to let Stellini take questions on the subject.
Stellini admitted the past week or so had been chaotic, but rejected the belief around Tottenham that the club are in crisis and disagreed with the notion that changes are needed over the final 10 games of the season – starting at Everton on Monday night.
“A bit chaotic, absolutely a bit chaotic but we have big shoulders to consider this type of situation,” said Stellini. “It’s not a club in crisis, absolutely not because everyone takes the decision for the best and when you take the decision and you follow the process, you are not in crisis. We have to be compact and stick together, and go ahead and continue to move on and play the match.”
Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy’s decision to replace Conte with his No2 and keep on the Italian’s backroom staff apart from his brother is unconventional and could negate the possibility of the so-called ‘bounce’ a new manager, interim or permanent, can bring.
“Nothing changes, in my opinion,” said Stellini. “Nothing has to change. I know very well the players and we had many opportunities to know each other. To know and to speak many times. I feel that I’m here because of this. We were tight, we were together. We used to stick together in the past and we have to do it again. Only this.”
When it was put to Stellini that supporters had been unhappy with the entertainment level from Tottenham this season, he replied by saying: “I have to disagree on that because if you think that we draw in Southampton and some results in the last month was not good, obviously the fans were not happy and that is normal.
“But we cannot say this about all the season because there are many matches where the fans enjoyed a lot and were there with us, and it’s important that we bring the fans with us.
“In these types of moments, we need to bring the fans with us and they have to be with us because we are the club and they are the club. They are an important part of the club and we expect that the fans support the team.”
