Tottenham launch internal review targeting injuries, mentality and stadium pitch after near-relegation

Tottenham have launched a wide-ranging internal review following one of the most turbulent Premier League seasons in the club’s recent history, during which they finished just two points above the relegation zone and used four different head coaches.

New performance director Dan Lewindon, who arrived in February from the City Football Group, is leading the investigation across Spurs’ medical and performance departments. His remit covers the club’s injury record — the worst in the Premier League this season — as well as the psychological culture that has long drawn criticism, and a specific inquiry into the retractable pitch at their north London stadium. A psychologist is being brought in to address what has been widely described as a ‘Spursy’ mentality.

James Maddison, who only recently returned to fitness after a partially torn anterior cruciate ligament fully ruptured last summer, was direct in his assessment after Tottenham’s final-day win over Everton. “Our situation with the injuries has been worse than any other club,” the midfielder told reporters. “People try and say ‘Oh, but we’ve got this and that’, but ours is astronomical, and we need to look at why that is.”

Lewindon walked through the doors at Hotspur Way the day before head coach Thomas Frank departed the club, inheriting significant structural challenges. He brings a background spanning performance, science and medicine across elite football, tennis and rugby, and the club believes he is the right figure to finally address injury problems that have sidelined double figures of players across each of the past three seasons.

The medical and performance departments have seen considerable upheaval in recent years. Long-serving head of medicine and sports science Geoff Scott left in 2024 after more than two decades at the club and has since joined Nottingham Forest. Director of performance services Adam Brett and head of sports science Nick Davies both departed after only a year in their respective roles. Nick Stubbings joined last summer as the men’s team’s medical lead, arriving from Brentford after 11 years there.

Sporting director Johan Lange’s future at the club also remains uncertain. Following a difficult 12 months that saw four managerial changes, Lange could move into a supporting or handover role as Tottenham search for a new world-class sporting director. Roberto De Zerbi, who steadied the ship by taking 11 points from the final six games to secure top-flight survival, is understood to have already built a strong working relationship with Lewindon as the pair focus on the improvements needed heading into next season.