Failing Tottenham players 'need to be out the door' - Johan Lange cited in explosive verdict

Tottenham Hotspur sporting director Johan Lange is fortunate to have escaped significant criticism during the team's struggles in recent years.

That is according to former Everton chief executive Keith Wyness, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, who believes that the Lilywhites are now at the stage where their issues go beyond any manager who has been at the helm.

The North London giants have endured back-to-back 17th-placed finishes in the Premier League, and already find themselves rock bottom of the table after the opening five games in 2026-27.

Wyness believes that Lange's "weakness" has effectively shielded the players from the true consequences of their poor performances in recent years.

The Scottish businessman believes that the squad now have to start taking some of the blame for the consistent issues, rather than allowing managers to be the fall guys.

Ange Postecoglou, Thomas Frank, and Igor Tudor have all failed to get Spurs going, and Roberto De Zerbi now appears to be fighting an uphill battle as well.

Johan Lange to back Roberto De Zerbi more

Everton’s former chief Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – believes that Lange needs to provide more backing to De Zerbi to help the squad feel the consequences of their struggles.

Wyness believes that the Spurs dressing room have been happy to let the manager take the blame all too often of late, rather than accepting any responsibility themselves.

Speaking on the latest edition of Football Insider's Inside Track podcast, he explained how Lange's lack of authority hasn't helped De Zerbi's cause.

"Well, we've had this before with Spurs when we'd be pointing at senior players. But there's been no consequences. There's been nobody in the dressing room who felt the consequences were going to fall on them," Wyness said.

"And that's been because I think of the weakness of the sporting director position at Spurs. If a player's not performing, they need to be out the door, but that's a role that the sporting director and the manager have to work together on. 

"We're coming back to succession planning and being able to move quickly to engender that fear in the squad to get them playing at the top level. I think they've been coasting for too long.

"You haven't seen major changes. You've just seen the dressing room happy to let the manager take the blame and get sacked, and it's happened a few times.

"Maybe it's time that the dressing room does have to take that responsibility, but also there have to be consequences and not just pointing fingers. So that's got to come from the sporting director and De Zerbi being tougher on that."

Could Tottenhan get a new sporting director?

Wyness previously told Football Insider back in September that Tottenham would be making a "very good move" by appointing Piero Ausilio as their new sporting director.

Reports had suggested that the Lilywhites had held talks with the Italian chief after his departure from Inter Milan, but the process since appears to have stalled somewhat.

Wyness genuinely believes that a change in the sporting director role could potentially hold the key to Spurs changing their fortunes for good.

Ausilio has helped to establish Inter back at the top of European football in recent years, and would be a major coup for Spurs if they could get it done.