Tottenham boss Nuno admits he has ignored Daniel Levy’s pre-season wish

Tottenham manager Nuno Espirito Santo has claimed that he has not been influenced by Daniel Levy’s wish for the team to play “free-flowing, attacking” football. Nuno was appointed as Spurs boss in July following an exhaustive search for a new man in the hotseat after the sacking of Jose Mourinho back in April.

Levy addressed supporters in a public letter in May and insisted he would only appoint someone who would implement an attractive style.

He said: “We are acutely aware of the need to select someone whose values reflect those of our great club and return to playing football with the style for which we are known – free-flowing, attacking and entertaining – whilst continuing to embrace our desire to see young players flourish from our Academy alongside experienced talent.

Eyebrows were therefore raised when Nuno was appointed, given that he developed something of a reputation for a defensive, safety-first approach at Wolves.

And he has received criticism at times this season for continuing to play in this style at Spurs.

Speaking in an interview with Sky Sports ahead of his side’s game against Newcastle on Sunday, Nuno admitted he had not let Levy’s words affect his thinking.

“With all due respect, it is not what guides me,” he said. “What guides me are the players, how to improve them so that we can achieve what our fans want. Working with the players in a progressive way is what moves me.

“We value all the opinions and the DNA of the club. But the job is about what we have. I think everybody would love to play attacking, attractive football, whatever. But to achieve that you need time, you need consistency.

“The first thing is to be able to create some routine. You can see it when the players train over and over again. That is when you create habits. Our job has been hard in that aspect because we have not been able to maintain the work that we want to do.”

Spurs have suffered further disruption ahead of the Newcastle game, with two players ruled out after testing positive for Covid 19.

But there is hope that the side have turned a corner following a 2-1 victory against Aston Villa before the international break.

Nuno added on that performance: “We were organised, we pressed really well. We were able to do something that we had not done before and that is to react well when we conceded a goal. We finished the game really strongly.

“The idea now is to recover the levels of performance shown against Villa.”

Spurs will face a buoyant crowd at St James’ Park following the news of the club’s takeover being completed.

But they will look to spoil the party and in turn move closer to the top four spots.

Nuno’s team currently sit in eighth position in the table.

However, they are still only four points off the top, and will hope to kick on as we head towards the hectic Christmas period.