We need complete reset, says Tottenham chief

Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Vinai Venkatesham joined Tottenham in the summer of 2025 Senior football correspondentPublished11 minutes agoVinai Venkatesham was upbeat when he began his new job as Tottenham Hotspur chief executive last summer. His outlook quickly changed. To say the his first season in charge did not go to plan would be an understatement. And in a wide-ranging interview with BBC Sport, Venkatesham has spoken about: Why they kept Thomas Frank for as long as they did The personal abuse he has faced from supporters Roberto de Zerbi's "extraordinary" impact Speaking after a final-day victory over Everton clinched Tottenham's Premier League survival, Venkatesham discussed the emotional strains of a relegation battle that went to the season's closing minutes. "I think it was just a huge outpouring of relief," said Venkatesham, who said that the club would not have made anyone redundant in the event of relegation. "But obviously feeling relief at the end of the season is nowhere near the standard of the football club." Venkatesham's first words were praise for the supporters who he says got the team "over the line" in their relegation battle. But he knows he will need more than words to appease supporters who have turned on him this season. Spurs admit 'football success was not driving decisions' Published1 day ago'Spurs avoid humiliation but elation of fans will soon turn to anger' Published2 days ago'I don't think there was a relentless obsession with football success'When Venkatesham started work on 1 June last year, he had high hopes. "On my very first day, what I thought would be a realistic target for the men's first team would be competing for European places," he said. Even though Tottenham had just finished 17th under Ange Postecoglou, they had won the Europa League, their first trophy since 2008, while the squad was packed with seasoned internationals. "If you'd have asked me a few months after I joined, when I was no longer an outsider, I would have told you the club was in a significantly worse state in some places than I thought," said Venkatesham. "That is absolutely not meant to be a criticism of anyone or anything. It was just what I found. It was very clear that this wasn't some form of turnaround that was required of the club in quite a few areas. It was really a complete reset." Asked to expand on that, Venkatesham said: "If I had to generalise, I would say on the non-football side of the club, in particular around stadium operations and commercial, that the club was and is really strong. "I think if you look at the football side of the club, over a timeframe of five years or so, there has just been an explosion in progress across the Premier League. "I'm not saying that Tottenham didn't improve in that period. But what I can tell you is that when you look at where Tottenham were in many of those areas, compared to where I believe other Premier League clubs are, there was a significant gap. In some areas really quite worryingly so. "I don't think that there was what I would call a relentless obsession with football success. "Our training centre is amazing, one of the best, if not the best in the world. But when you look around, it looks more like a five-star hotel than it does a performance environment. That will change over the summer. "I think there are many areas where the club hasn't got the right level of expertise." Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Igor Tudor was sacked as Tottenham interim head coach after 44 days and seven matches. It means nothing now, but Frank's ill-fated reign started quite well following his appointment last June. Tottenham lost just one of their opening 10 matches of the season in all competitions. But when Tottenham finally sacked Frank in February, the only surprise was that it didn't happen sooner. Indeed, Venkatesham and sporting director Johan Lange faced heavy criticism from fans for prolonging Frank's tenure for as long as they did. "There's been plenty of coverage that the club was passive during this period. And that's absolutely not true," insisted Venkatesham. In weighing up Frank's future, Venkatesham says the club considered results, the probability of the Dane turning their failing season around, concerns changing managers may create in the January transfer window, the fixture calendar and concerns over entering the interim head coach market. Venkatesham confirmed to BBC Sport that Tottenham tried to entice De Zerbi, who was leaving Marseille, to become the club's full-time head coach after Frank was dismissed. The Italian, however, was originally unwilling to take the job mid-season, which led Spurs towards making the left-field appointment of Tudor – who left Spurs by mutual consent after just seven games. "Obviously, we were very disappointed when it became clear that we wouldn't be appointing Roberto on a permanent basis [in February]," said Venkatesham. "We were then, in the in

We need complete reset, says Tottenham chief

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