Santini ready to axe stars

13 April 2012

Jacques Santini starts his Tottenham reign today ready to begin a massive clear-out of players who fail to match his ambition.

Santini, who left his job as France coach after a disappointing Euro 2004 campaign, will make it clear that those players who do not conform to his plans will be shipped out.

Coach Santini, assistant Martin Jol and sporting director Frank Arnesen will be officially unveiled at White Hart Lane this afternoon.

Standard Sport understands that an assessment of the playing squad has already identified that few of them are safe from the axe. The players will be told that the club must improve on last season, when they lost 19 games in --finishing 14th in the Premiership, and will be told that high standards of behaviour off the pitch will be expected of them.

He wants the players to improve their fitness and yesterday announced he is bringing in the head physiotherapist of the Great Britain Olympic athletics team, Australian Dean Kenneally, to revamp the Spurs fitness regime.

The team will be built around England stars Jermain Defoe, Paul Robinson and Ledley King, plus Republic of Ireland striker Robbie Keane, Wales winger Simon Davies and Michael Brown.

But others, including the highly-rated but inconsistent defender Anthony Gardner, will be told to improve dramatically or face being moved on.

Santini's arrival also puts a cloud over the futures of Mali striker Freddie Kanoute as well as skipper Jamie Redknapp, who was surprisingly handed a new one-year deal when Darren Anderton and Christian Ziege were released.

Santini was in charge of Kanoute at Lyon and failed to select the player while in charge of France. The former West Ham star chose to switch his allegiance to Mali last January because he could not break into Santini's international squad.

Santini, who this week walked into a row with Thierry Henry over allegations that the Arsenal striker had a bust-up with team-mate Robert Pires while on international duty in Portugal, is known for taking a tough stance with players.

He famously axed Brazilian centre-back Edmilson and playmaker Eric Carrihre in the final game of the 2001/2 season when Lyon needed to win to take the title for the first time. He also ignored the international claims of Manchester City striker Nicolas Anelka after a row over selection.

Santini's only move in the transfer market so far has been to agree a £600,000 deal with Brazilian club Cruzeiro for 18-year-old defender Rodrigo Defendi.

Squad rotation is something else the Spurs players will have to get used to, as well as last-minute team selections.

Santini says: "It's my opinion that if you want to win things, you can't relentlessly stick with a first 11 from the first to the last day of the season. Players get tired and form fluctuates. I was criticised a lot for rotating the team at Lyon and some players needed time to be convinced, but it worked.

"Football is a collective sport. When it comes to choosing between a good individual and the group, I'll always pick the group. As a coach you cannot always have everything you want. But I think I have a reputation as someone who can come in and get a project off the ground. Work doesn't scare me, nor do difficulties."

MORE ABOUT

David Jones (Footballer)

Santini ready to axe stars

Read More