James Maddison says Tottenham would be relegated if it wasn’t for De Zerbi

Tottenham fans, and players alike are breathing easy after a season long scare in which the threat of relegation shadowed them throughout the entire campaign. James Maddison is one of those players who is enjoying some R&R after a stressful run-in. Now that saftey is secured, he was eager to heap praise upon new manager Roberto De Zerbi.

Spurs survive relegation race

It would have been a nightmare scenario for Maddison, Tottenham and De Zerbi if the club weren dealt a devastating defeat in their final game against Everton on Sunday afternoon. After 37 match days they left it to the final weekend to secure their salvation and send West Ham packing to The Championship. A drop to the second tier would have meant disaster both on the sporting side and the business side for Spurs, but luckily a hero came to save them just in the nick of time.

A lone goal from Joao Palinha was enough to take three points in the final game of the season with ensured Tottenham a spot in next year’s Premier League. ”Since he’s come in, he’s been brilliant," Maddison told Sky Sports from his invitational charity golf tournament. “Without him coming in, there is a serious possibility that we would have gone down.”

Roberto De Zerbi was appointed at the end of March with the relegation struggle becoming more and more of a reality after a treacherous first seven months of the season under Thomas Frank and Igor Tudor. He was the third manager that was appointed to the touchline since Ange Postecoglou was let go after winning the UEFA Europa League.

De Zerbi brought passion back

The Italian rose to fame in England a few years ago when he led Brighton & Hove Albion to two great seasons before shipping off to Marseille. His attacking style and attractive brand of play made him one of the most desired managers over the last few years, but Maddison says it was the attitude that he instilled in the dressing room that was the most important thing. “He switched the mindset, he switched the passion. The passion he shows every single day rubbed off on the players and I think you could see that in the last few performances.”

Maddison missed most of the season with a knee injury and only returned for the final against Leeds on May 11th. He played three matches all coming on as a substitute, and he was on the pitch for the final few minutes of the 1-0 win over Everton on the final matchday of the season. The midfielder has been there since 2023 and only wants what’s best for the club. “I love this club. I want it to be successful so bad, and when you see that man steering the ship, and he’s genuinely passionate about the club.”

While he may not have been available for the start of De Zerbi’s reign on the touchline in North London, he saw the transformation from the time the Italian was brought to Tottenham Hotspurs Stadium. “I never questioned the group’s mentality. I didn’t see a group who weren’t willing to try, it just needed Roberto to come in and fine-tune it and get it out of some of the players. And he managed to do that, so big credit to him.”

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