Andre Villas-Boas has become a manager in demand. The Tottenham manager who has had a season of rehabilitation at White Hart Lane after his disappointing experience with Chelsea is among names being suggested for top managerial posts across Europe.
Andre Villas-Boas received a warm reception from Spurs fans [Photo: Jav The_DoC_66]At the time of the initial rumours of Jose Mourinho leaving Real Madrid the Spurs manager was immediately installed by bookmakers as one of the favourites to take over at the Benabeu.
Now with the season over and many clubs across Europe looking to appoint new coaches, Napoli have approached Tottenham for permission to speak to Villas-Boas.
It is good to know that the manager is highly thought of and that other clubs have recognised what he has achieved at White Hart Lane since his appointment last summer. The thought that he might leave, however, is a concern to Spurs and their supporters.
Villas-Boas has always spoken warmly of the club and after the disappointment of just missing out on Champions League football on the last day of the season he talked of the importance of retaining Gareth Bale and the need to make improvements for next season. In an interview with BBC, AVB said,
"“Tottenham is a wonderful club who will continue to attract big players and will continue to push on. It was a very good season. We pushed all the way for fourth and third spot and I think we can make it better next season.”"
In his early days with the stigma of his failure at Chelsea hanging over him there was uncertainty about how Villas-Boas would do at Tottenham. The boos that greeted the half-time whistle and the end of the game at White Hart Lane at the beginning, of September were not encouraging. For the third successive game Spurs had conceded a late goal and dropped points in a draw with Norwich. Some fans were getting restless and the media were in search of a story with the details of his Stamford Bridge travails still fresh in their memory.
With the dignity that he has shown throughout, Villas-Boas rode out the storm and won his first game as Tottenham manager in the next match at Reading. Improvement continued and overcoming the usual set-backs that occur during a season, Tottenham finished with their highest total of points in the Premier League era.
Supporters have accepted AVB as Tottenham’s manager for the future, the media have found it in them to acknowledge the turn round he has achieved personally and most importantly the players are fully behind the manager. The strong bond he has developed with the players was clearly evident during the final games of the season when they made numerous battling comebacks to snatch a win or a draw with late, late equalisers. Without a belief and desire instilled in them by the manager those last minute recoveries would never have come about.
Daniel Levy will be well aware that he has a manager who is attracting attention from other clubs especially with so many currently looking to make an appointment. Just as he knows he must keep Gareth Bale, he is also fully aware that he must retain the services of Andre Villas-Boas if the ‘Tottenham project’ that was talked of last summer is to continue.
The appointment of Villas-Boas last July brought a sense of excitement and anticipation to the club and on the showing of his first season in charge there’s more to come. So it is with concern that Spurs supporters read in the Daily Mail of Napoli’s request to speak to AVB. It is to be hoped that he will not be drawn towards the challenge in Italy but will prefer to continue the development of his team at White Hart Lane.
A couple of months ago AVB spoke of looking forward to a second season at a club after his previous short periods at Porto and Chelsea.
Tottenham need to build on this past season and they require Andre Villas-Boas to be at the helm.