Former Tottenham Hotspur assistant manager Cristian Stellini has been reflecting back on last season which saw both himself and Antonio Conte leave the club.
Stellini was appointed by chairman Daniel Levy as the club’s interim head coach for the remainder of the campaign following Conte’s Spurs departure which came after he pulled no punches in his post-Southampton press conference in March after his side threw away a 3-1 advantage at St Mary’s to eventually draw 3-3.
The Italian had a first taste of action on the sidelines after Spurs ran out winners under Stellini when they beat Marseille 2-1 in their Champions League group stage meeting in November, with Conte serving a suspension for the fixture.
Conte’s gallbladder issues saw Stellini step back in charge and enjoyed Premier League victories against Manchester City, West Ham and Chelsea, however disappointing defeats against Leicester City and Wolves marred his stint.
After Conte’s departure, Stellini only managed to win one of his four matches and the 6-1 thrashing at Newcastle United proved to be enough for Levy to instead give the responsibility to Ryan Mason, who was initially overlooked for the role.
Stellini also highlighted the passing of Gian Piero Ventrone, their fitness coach in October of last year, the 61-year-old had been battling leukemia.
Ventrone, nicknamed ‘The Marine’ in Italy because of his rigorous training regimes, was a popular figure among the Tottenham squad (The Sun).
(Photo by Tottenham Hotspur FC/Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images)
Stellini admits it was a difficult season at Spurs
Stellini told TMW Radio: “The experience you gain by being close to top-level professionals helps you gain experience at certain times. It was a difficult season, I think it was a season never experienced like this, because it was crowned with a thousand problems and dramatic situations.
“Ventrone’s death was devastating for us and with the World Cup in between, everything was generally difficult. Mister Conte was also ill, so it was very complicated. It’s a year that will help everyone for the future.”
Stellini was asked further about Tottenham’s win against Manchester City in north London which proved to be the last Premier League defeat of the campaign for Pep Guardiola’s side.
He added: “We were the last team in the Premier League to beat them before the Champions League final. We actually faced City at a time when they weren’t in the best shape, they had many at the World Cup and had yet to get back to their best. We did very well but they were good at defending and restarting.”
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