Levy needs to end Spurs excuse culture

Daniel Levy does not need a manager, he needs a miracle worker if he wants Tottenham Hotspur back in the Champions League any time soon.

It is eight games since Spurs’ last miracle worker, Antonio Conte, left his post, and in that time the club have collected just eight points and cannot finish in the top four.

Spurs were fourth when Conte issued uncomfortable home truths to the chairman and players after the 3-3 draw at Southampton, and it has become more and more clear that the problems do not stop at the door of the head coach.

Conte faced criticism for his style of play, yet at half-time in the 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa, under the second caretaker since his departure, Ryan Mason, Spurs had not had a shot on goal. They went behind early again, just as in the thrashing by Newcastle United, under Cristian Stellini, and the draw with Manchester United and defeat by Liverpool under Mason.

Conte warned in what proved to be his exit speech that, with the spirit, attitude and commitment they were showing, the team would end the season fighting for seventh, eighth or even 10th place. And here we are, two months later, with Spurs now in a three-way fight with Villa and Brighton to decide who finishes sixth, seventh and eighth.

The way in which Jacob Ramsey opened the scoring for Villa in just the eighth minute and the ridiculous foul Cristian Romero gave away that allowed Douglas Luiz to double the hosts’ lead would have sent Conte over the edge yet again.

Levy has been relying too heavily on the kind of miracles Conte produced last season to drag Spurs into the Champions League places for far too long and it is no wonder the Italian decided he had had enough.

Harry Kane, who scored Spurs’ consolation penalty, admitted a culture problem at the club going back to Mauricio Pochettino’s sacking in 2019, which tallied with much of what Conte complained about.

Spurs have distanced themselves from Julian Nagelsmann, but it is hard to see why the German would want to become the latest coach to put his reputation on the line for a squad that, bar Kane and Son Heung-min, appear overrated.

Without Kane and Son, Spurs would be a mid-table team and until Levy addresses that, along with the excuse culture that exists within the club and around it, every manager will encounter the same problems, even if, like Conte, they are hired to produce miracles.