England international James Maddison has stated that there was a ‘serious possibility’ Tottenham Hotspur could have been relegated to the EFL Championship if not for the appointment of Roberto De Zerbi towards the end of the season. Maddison expressed his gratitude, saying, “Credit to him.”
Maddison Praises De Zerbi After Tottenham’s Survival: ‘He’s Switched the Mindset’
De Zerbi was brought in to replace former Juventus boss Igor Tudor as Tottenham’s head coach at the end of March. At that point, Spurs were sitting in 17th place with only seven Premier League matches remaining.
Despite not securing a win in his first two games, De Zerbi managed to win three of Tottenham’s final five league matches, ultimately ensuring the team avoided relegation by a two-point margin on the final day of the season.
Numerous Tottenham players have attributed De Zerbi with instilling the ‘passion’ and drive that the squad needed during a critical period of Premier League fixtures.
Among these players is England’s Maddison, who missed the majority of the 2025-26 campaign due to a knee injury.
“Since he came in, he’s been brilliant. Without him coming in, there is a serious possibility we would have gone down, yeah,” Maddison told Sky Sports.
“He’s switched the mindset. The passion he shows every single day rubbed off on the players, and I think you could see that in the last few performances. Yes, maybe we could still be better in terms of quality and the moments we were producing.
“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 credit to him.”
A tweet from Sky Sports Premier League highlighted Maddison’s sentiments: “Without him coming in, there’s a serious possibility we would have gone down.” The post also included a handshake emoji and praised Roberto De Zerbi’s work at Spurs since his arrival.