Ledley King is very happy in his role as Tottenham Hotspur assistant coach, enjoying the ‘opportunity to learn from one of the best managers there’s ever been’.
Ledley King Enjoying Tottenham Hotspur Coach Role
King Learning From the Best
Since retiring from his playing career in July 2012, King picked up his coaching badges before working with the Spurs under-18 cohort.
King was then appointed as a first-team assistant in August 2020, cited by Mourinho as having a “tremendous affinity” with the club, as well as valuing his experience and insights to help to manage the squad.
King said: “Coming back into football, in the thick of things, being on the training pitch every day and in the stadium. It’s great.
“I’m loving every minute of it. It’s an opportunity to learn from one of the best managers there’s ever been.
“It’s a fantastic opportunity for me and every day I’m just trying to learn as much as possible and improve.”
The legendary centre-back will have been pleased to see his team keep a clean sheet against Burnley– only their second shut out in the league since January.
Spurs’ defence is a particularly troublesome area. King had been helping Mourinho work on the Spurs defence in pre-season, but it is unclear how much input he really has at the moment.
It is a defence that keeps chopping and changing in terms of formation and personnel.
Mourinho Pleased for King
After six months at the club, Mourinho is happy with how King is developing as a coach.
Mourinho said: “I’m happy. I am happy with the man and I am happy with the coach and I couldn’t be more happy with the opportunity that we gave him.
“First of all because he just loves it, he wants to learn, he feels he can develop.
“I am very happy with Ledley and all my other assistants, they like to work with him because he is such a nice guy.”
King’s Defence
It is great to see the Spurs legend settling into his role as assistant coach, passing on his expertise in defending.
But many Tottenham fans would do anything to get King back on the pitch to help bolster their shaky defence.
The future of the Spurs defence will undoubtedly involve Japhet Tanganga and Joe Rodon, but many of the current defenders are too inconsistent.
Davinson Sanchez, who turns 25-years-old this year, can handle the Premier League physically but can be prone to mistakes.
Tanganga and Sanchez are two players that King was most looking forward to coaching when he spoke to talkSPORT in August :
He said: “For me, working with the likes of Japhet and Davinson is very exciting,”
“Davinson I would say is the player most like me in the squad in terms of style, so if I can bring something that can help him further himself, that would be great.”
Sanchez has some way to go before he develops into the formidable defender that King once was.
The rest of the Spurs defence still has plenty of mistakes to iron out.
This includes Eric Dier, who for a time was one of Spurs’ strongest performers under Mauricio Pochettino. Even earlier this season, Dier was performing well at centre-back. But recently his performances have dropped off.
Toby Alderweireld is the only outlier, whilst he is not as brilliant as he was alongside Jan Vertonghen, he is still the most solid defender at the club.
As King continues to work with the Spurs defence, especially the up and coming stars, there is no doubt that they are receiving a top-class education on the art of defending. They’re in good hands.
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