{"id":585391,"date":"2021-03-02T06:25:33","date_gmt":"2021-03-02T11:25:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/?p=585391"},"modified":"2021-03-02T06:25:33","modified_gmt":"2021-03-02T11:25:33","slug":"ledley-king-loving-every-minute-tottenham-hotspur-coach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2021\/03\/02\/ledley-king-loving-every-minute-tottenham-hotspur-coach\/","title":{"rendered":"Ledley King ‘Loving Every Minute’ as Tottenham Hotspur Coach"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ledley King is very happy in his role as Tottenham Hotspur<\/a> assistant coach, enjoying the ‘opportunity to learn from one of the best managers there’s ever been’.<\/p>\n

Ledley King Enjoying Tottenham Hotspur Coach Role<\/h2>\n

King Learning From the Best<\/h3>\n

Since retiring from his playing career in July 2012, King picked up his coaching badges<\/a> before working with the Spurs under-18 cohort.<\/p>\n

King was then appointed as a first-team assistant in August 2020<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

“I’m loving every minute of it. It’s an opportunity to learn from one of the best managers there’s ever been.<\/p>\n

“It’s a fantastic opportunity for me and every day I’m just trying to learn as much as possible and improve.”<\/p>\n

The legendary centre-back will have been pleased to see his team keep a clean sheet against Burnley<\/a>– only their second shut out in the league since January.<\/p>\n

Spurs’ defence is a particularly troublesome area. King had been helping Mourinho work on the Spurs defence in pre-season<\/a>, but it is unclear how much input he really has at the moment.<\/p>\n

It is a defence that keeps chopping and changing in terms of formation and personnel.<\/p>\n

Mourinho Pleased for King<\/h3>\n

After six months at the club, Mourinho is happy with how King is developing as a coach.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

“First of all because he just loves it, he wants to learn, he feels he can develop.<\/p>\n

“I am very happy with Ledley and all my other assistants, they like to work with him because he is such a nice guy.”<\/p>\n

King’s Defence<\/h3>\n

It is great to see the Spurs legend settling into his role as assistant coach, passing on his expertise in defending.<\/p>\n

But many Tottenham fans would do anything to get King back on the pitch to help bolster their shaky defence.<\/p>\n

The future of the Spurs defence will undoubtedly involve Japhet Tanganga<\/a> and Joe Rodon<\/a>, but many of the current defenders are too inconsistent.<\/p>\n

Davinson Sanchez<\/a>, who turns 25-years-old this year, can handle the Premier League physically but can be prone to mistakes.<\/p>\n

Tanganga and Sanchez are two players that King was most looking forward to coaching when he spoke to talkSPORT in August :<\/p>\n

He said<\/a>: \u201cFor me, working with the likes of Japhet and Davinson is very exciting,\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDavinson 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sanchez has some way to go before he develops into the formidable defender that King once was.<\/p>\n

The rest of the Spurs defence still has plenty of mistakes to iron out.<\/p>\n

This includes Eric Dier<\/a>, who for a time was one of Spurs’ strongest performers under Mauricio Pochettino<\/a>. Even earlier this season, Dier was performing well at centre-back. But recently his performances have dropped off.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Toby Alderweireld<\/a> is the only outlier, whilst he is not as brilliant as he was alongside Jan Vertonghen<\/a>, he is still the most solid defender at the club.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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Main Photo<\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a>