After such a frighteningly dreadful season, the work starts right away for Tottenham Hotspur to ensure that whatever 2025/26 was, it never happens again.
There was no grand humiliation after all. Doomsday didn't arrive in N17 on the final day thanks to João Palhinha's scrappy strike. Our slender but surprisingly measured victory over Everton guaranteed safety and another year in the top flight. We all know who to thank.
Roberto De Zerbi's fashion choices may leave plenty to be desired, but boy, can he coach. This was a major coaching triumph, having inherited a broken squad with too many holes to count. The Italian swiftly turned Spurs into fighters who relished their struggle, even if more adversity arrived down the stretch.
Survival means we can look forward to a potentially exciting new dawn with De Zerbi at the helm, and a truly definitive summer beckons. The boss will seek to build this Lilywhite squad in his rather chaotic image, having maximised the scraps at his disposal to avoid disaster.
De Zerbi preparing for summer clear out as project begins
De Zerbi hasn't once complained since taking the job on. He hasn't allowed self-pity and woe to linger in north London, crucially allowing a far more positive collective mindset to manifest among this group of players.
However, the Italian didn't waste any time after we all breathed a sigh of relief to outline the extent of the job at the club's disposal this summer. There's going to be a serious clear out, that's for sure.
"From tonight, we need to build the new team," De Zerbi told reporters post-match (via Alasdair Gold). "We don't need to change too many players. We have 10/11/12 players who are good enough to stay as players and people."
Errr, that sounds like you'll be needing to "change" quite a few players, Roberto. I don't fancy having a squad of 12 for next season, even if we'll enjoy lots of free weeks.
"Now we need to complete the squad with the first level of players because I suffered too much, but so did the players, the board and the fans and we can't suffer like this as Tottenham Hotspur," he added.
It already looks like Andy Robertson and Marcos Senesi will be joining as free agents, but we've got to expect at an array of personnel changes this summer. There will be departures we expect, and perhaps others we didn't see coming. The profiles we target in attack will depend on who goes, but we certainly need depth behind Mohammed Kudus and a star left winger.
I probably wouldn't be rushing to bring Randal Kolo Muani back.
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