LONDON — Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy has told fans that the club made mistakes during a disappointing season in which it tried to join a “Super League” and fired manager Jose Mourinho after falling out of contention for the Champions League.
Levy’s message to supporters was published Wednesday in the matchday program as Spurs welcomed back 10,000 fans for a home game against Aston Villa amid reports that striker Harry Kane wants out of Tottenham.
Fans have been critical of the club’s attempt to join the proposed European Super League as well as the team’s on-field performances as it slipped down the standings and failed to qualify for next season’s Champions League.
“This season, for many reasons, we have not met our raised expectations on the pitch,” Levy wrote, noting that Spurs were atop the Premier League in December.
Levy’s message didn’t address Kane’s status but mentioned the need to hire a permanent manager who will bring a “free-flowing, attacking and entertaining” style of play.
Levy said that “we lost sight of some key priorities and what’s truly in our DNA” during the effort to complete the team’s new stadium and while dealing with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Our work in the community and with the NHS is an example of when we get it right, but we don’t get everything right,” he wrote. “It has never been because we don’t care about or respect you, our fans — nothing could be further from the truth.”
The club announced last week that it will have fan representation on its board in an effort to improve relations with supporters following the aborted effort to join the Super League.
Levy defended his efforts to support the team, saying that since reaching the Champions League final in 2019 the club has spent more than $353 million on new players.
But the best they can do now is qualification to the second-tier Europa League.
Levy pledged to hire a manager who will bring an exciting style of play. Mourinho was fired last month, and academy coach Ryan Mason was promoted in the interim.
“We are acutely aware of the need to select someone whose values reflect those of our great club and return to playing football with the style for which we are known — free-flowing, attacking and entertaining — whilst continuing to embrace our desire to see young players flourish from our academy alongside experienced talent,” Levy wrote.
Sky Sports, one of the Premier League’s major rights holders, reported Monday that Kane has asked to be sold after becoming unhappy with the club’s lack of progress.
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