Tottenham Hotspur chief executive Vinai Venkatesham acknowledged significant shortcomings within the club’s football operations, attributing recent struggles to a lack of sufficient focus on on-field performance. Speaking publicly after a challenging Premier League season that saw the club narrowly avoid relegation on the final day under new manager Roberto De Zerbi, Venkatesham outlined the need for a comprehensive overhaul across multiple areas.

Having led the club for just over a year, Venkatesham admitted that the state of Tottenham was far worse than initially anticipated when he first assumed his role. “It was very clear that this wasn’t some form of turnaround that was required of the club in quite a few areas. It was really a complete reset,” he said. He contrasted Tottenham’s progress over the past five years with that of other Premier League clubs, noting a “significant gap” in several aspects of the football side, which he described as “quite worryingly so.”

Venkatesham pointed to the club’s training centre as an example, describing it as resembling “more like a five-star hotel than a performance environment.” He indicated that changes would be made ahead of the next season to foster an elite training atmosphere demanding higher levels of development and competition. The CEO stressed that Tottenham lacked the “right level of expertise” in certain departments, underscoring the scope of necessary reforms.

Addressing fan concerns, Venkatesham rejected claims that the club was “too passive” in dismissing former manager Thomas Frank and acknowledged that appointing Igor Tudor had been a “risk that didn’t work out.” He recognized the frustration of supporters after consecutive 17th-place finishes and asserted that the club was fully aware of its “serious challenges” and was actively working to resolve them.

In a statement released shortly after, Spurs’ owners, the Lewis family, pledged a full rebuild aimed at restoring the club’s identity and ambition. They emphasized that football would be the overriding priority moving forward and committed to investing in all areas, including the playing squad, academy, and backroom staff. “We are not selling the club. We are all in. We are investing in it,” the statement said, affirming that significant changes were already underway.

The ownership also warned that a repeat of the recent season’s struggles “must never happen again,” declaring their intent to reinstate the club’s traditional qualities of “excitement, fearlessness and bold football.” While acknowledging that the process would require time and dedication, the Lewis family concluded with a call for patience, noting that “actions will speak louder than words” as Tottenham seeks to rebuild and regain competitiveness at the highest level.