New Tottenham head coach Nuno Espirito Santo has spoken to the media for the first time since joining Spurs.
The 47-year-old succeeds former manager Jose Mourinho in the excavation in north London after leaving the Wolves at the end of last season.
Spurs’ preparations for the season are already underway and they will meet Leyton Orient in a friendly match on Saturday.
Ahead of the 2021/22 campaign, Nuno spoke to the press for the first time as Spurs’ head coach. Here’s what we learned …
Kane wants to leave Spurs / Visionhaus / Getty Images
There has been speculation about the future of England captain Harry Kane for several months, but Nuno assured fans that he will not go anywhere.
“Harry is our player, period. No need to talk about anything else. Now it’s time for Harry to regain his energy and rest. When he returns it’s time to talk. He must prepare for what is to come.
“I have no doubts in my mind. I do not doubt. What I want is for Harry to recover well, have a good rest and when he comes he will feel that all of us must commit to getting better. We are very ambitious, we are ambitious people and we want to do well and no doubt Harry about it. “
Spurs have appointed Fabio Paratici as CEO of football / Alessandro Sabattini / Getty Images
While Spurs have generally been good at holding on to their star players in recent years, they have rarely lost their toes in the transfer market for someone to have an immediate impact. And Nuno believes this will continue to be the case.
“We talked – not just me and Fabio [Paratici]Steve [Hitchen] also. We are aware that there is a lot of work to do, but at the same time it is hard work to improve our group, the quality we have, the talent we have, is not easy and we have to find the right players who can help us, but it has been good work and every day we have the chance to talk, share opinions – me, Fabio, Steve.
“They do their job, look at the market. I do my job at the training ground and we gather ideas and try to find the best decisions. But as I say, it is not easy to improve our group.
“It is difficult to improve our group with the talent and quality we have.
“We have to find the right players who can help us and join. We share opinions and look at the market. We try to make the best decisions. ”
Tottenham rarely look like a team that owns a £ 1 billion stadium / Catherine Ivill / Getty Images
It has gone a little wrong for Spurs since they reached the Champions League final just two years ago. Nuno realizes that the facilities offered to him are fantastic, but it also requires hard work and intensity.
“We have to be really careful about how we prepare for how we want to play. We prepare the players in terms of fitness and mentality.
“They must be able to be intense in every action. Then come our ideas on how we want to play.
“We have to be organized first. Right now we are working with fitness. We are intense in our training and the players have been fantastic.
“[Tottenham] is a fantastic club, fantastic. We have the best facilities in the world and we must raise our standards to be equal. I do not doubt. ”
Nuno already hinted that Spurs played with intensity again / Catherine Ivill / Getty Images
The Wolves played largely with a three-back system during Nuno’s time at Molineux, although he returned to back four at the end of last season. But he insists that flexibility will be crucial for Spurs.
“We are focused on many aspects of the game. Now it’s about preparing the players to play in many different ways. We have to be organized. The last two weeks the focus has been on fitness.”
Spurs fans have become apathetic and disillusioned with the club / Pool / Getty Images
Nuno quickly won over Spurs fans when he previously said that his intention is to make them proud of the club again, and that is a feeling he repeated.
“I’m here, this is where I want to be, I’m so happy. What we want is to make our fans proud and make our teams love their players, let’s make our fans proud, to create a great atmosphere. I is totally positive that fans will love it.
“What we want is to make our fans proud, to make them enjoy their players, to love their players, this is our focus, let’s make our fans proud, to create a great atmosphere, to help the players throughout the season and every I think they will enjoy. This is what I say to the players, “Let’s enjoy ourselves.” Our football must be a reflection in the mirror of what we do, what we want to do and I am completely positive that fans will love it. “
