Tottenham Hotspur rocked by departure of ‘the best in the business’

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Tottenham Hotspur confirmed on Friday that John McDermott is to leave his role as Head of Academy Coaching and Player Development to take up the position of Assistant Technical Director at the Football Association.

While the departure of a coach may not necessarily provoke as much reaction amongst as the departure of a player or manager, Spurs have a big job now in replacing a man previously described as “the best in the business”.

McDermott, the man responsible for developing numerous players who have shined at Tottenham including Harry Kane, Harry Winks, Danny Rose, Ryan Mason and Andros Townsend, was at Spurs for 15 years.

For six of those years, he worked alongside Alex Inglethorpe, now academy director at Liverpool, and the Anfield man praised McDermott highly, in conversation with the Coaches Voice in 2019.

“I learnt from so many good people at Tottenham,” said Inglethorpe. “I consider John McDermott to be the best in the business at doing what he does. I was very lucky to spend the time I did with him.

“He taught me about standards. That’s not just standards of actions. It’s standards of thinking. Standards of my thinking as a coach, and being able to pass those standards on to the players I was working with.”

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McDermott’s record in making first-team stars out of academy prospects at Tottenham speaks for itself and he will be missed on Hotspur Way as he begins a new challenge.

There is currently no indication as to who his successor might be, although Spurs confirmed that the process to identify the right person has already begun.

With so many talented youngsters at Tottenham, it definitely needs to be a meticulous process to find someone who can take the academy further forward.