Manager Jamie Redknapp has called on Tottenham to launch a full investigation into the “embarrassing” campaign that nearly resulted in their side being relegated from the Premier League. Roberto De Zerbi’s side secured survival with a tense 1-0 home win against Everton, finishing 17th with 41 points from 38 games. Meanwhile, West Ham were relegated despite the Hammers defeating Leeds United 3-0 and progressing into the Championship alongside Wolves and Burnley.
There was great relief and joy inside Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as first-class football was guaranteed again next season. After the winning goal, Joao Parinha gathered with his teammates to celebrate, and De Zerbi sprinted onto the pitch after the final whistle.
But former Tottenham midfielder Redknapp believes the club should be ashamed of themselves for narrowly avoiding relegation on the final day and insisted an investigation was needed to prevent this scenario from happening again.
“It’s going to be a mixture of complete joy and bewilderment, because I’ve found myself in this position, but today we’ve got to have fun, we’ve got to have fun with the fans, the players, the staff. But tomorrow there’s going to be a serious inquiry into how this club of this stature and this fan base got into this predicament, and that’s the feeling today, but something like this must never happen again,” Redknapp told Sky Sports after the match.
“It’s a big three points for them. De Zerbi came in and made a little bit of a difference, but this season it wasn’t enough by any stretch of the imagination.”
De Zerbi, who saved Tottenham from relegation, expressed relief and joy at the post-match press conference. When the Italian took over as manager of Spurs in March, the club was embroiled in a serious battle to retain their Premier League status. However, since arriving in north London, he has made quite an impression, scoring 11 points in seven games and securing his stay in the top flight.
“We did well, but we were lucky because we have a lot of big players,” De Zerbi said. “You saw in today’s game that they played great with the ball under a lot of pressure. Probably the best performance we’ve had in our time here. It was an unbelievable game. The football was great, because if you do your best, the results will follow.”
“I struggled a lot during the games, but the pressure of football has made my life so much better. Without that pressure, my life wouldn’t have been so great.”
Asked about Tottenham’s ambitions for next season, De Zerbi said: “We have to build a top, top, top team next season. We don’t need to change too many players in the squad, but we need to bring in some first-level players.”
