The difference between Tottenham Hotspur before and after Roberto De Zerbi's appointment has been impossible to deny, and many Spurs supporters are primarily crediting the Italian manager with the club surviving the drop after previously looking doomed to play in the EFL Championship under both Thomas Frank and Igor Tudor.
De Zerbi was able to get the most out of veteran players who seemed mentally checked out and punching bags of the fans, giving off an air that they had given up on themselves and the team. Rodrigo Bentancur, Pedro Porro, Joao Palhinha, and Conor Gallagher all improved markedly in the Tottenham midfield en route to safety, but no single player turned their season around more than Gallagher.
He didn't play great in every game under De Zerbi, but he was an asset in the starting lineup for Spurs, which is much more than can be said about his performances beforehand, when Spurs supporters were wondering if he would end up ranking among the club's worst ever seasons.
Roberto De Zerbi gets the players to believe again
But the best person to talk about his change in performance and mentality since the Roberto De Zerbi appointment is Conor Gallagher himself. He told Sky Sports, via Spurs Global, “I was low on confidence [before RDZ] and the last manager wasn’t having me. The fans didn’t think I was any good. I mentally dealt with that really well, I knew I could come back and show the fans what I can really do. Hopefully it’s only the start because I’ve got so much to give and I’m really looking forward to building an even better connection with our fans.”
Even though Tottenham Hotspur supporters had every right to be upset when their big winter transfer investment was playing as poorly as Gallagher was on the wages and transfer fee he commanded, even the biggest pessimist in the fan base has to look at that quote from Gallagher and feel sad about what he went through.
It's really awful for any person to have to go through a period when they are down on themselves and not able to perform at their best, and there is a mental aspect that feeds on itself and can make a downward spiral get even worse.
So massive, massive credit to De Zerbi for getting that lion heart back out of Gallagher, who was once a very good Premier League player a few years back for local rivals Crystal Palace. He may never be a top class player in the English top flight, but Gallagher can have a positive role for Spurs going forward under De Zerbi, who, despite the doubts from the fans, always believed in Gallagher from day one. And Spurs have needed a manager like that in the Ange Postecglou vein charismatically.
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