Tottenham’s hunt for a new manager has been a circus — but the North Londoners have finally landed Nuno Espirito Santo. 

Jose Mourinho was sacked just days before the Carabao Cup final back in April and Spurs struggled to find his replacement after putting Ryan Mason in temporary charge. 

Discussions with the likes of Antonio Conte, Paulo Fonseca and Gennaro Gattuso came to nothing, leaving the club embarrassed.

But they have found their man in the shape of former Wolves boss Nuno, who signed a two-year deal yesterday. 

The background

Nuno departed Molineux in May after four years in charge, in which time he guided the Midlands outfit from the Championship to consecutive seventh-placed finishes in the Premier League and steered them back into Europe.

The 47-year-old tactician possesses an understanding of the trials and tribulations the English top flight throws at managers but his appointment appears to have underwhelmed Tottenham fans.

Often deploying a five-man defence in his time at Wolves, he has become known for a counter-attacking style of play — an approach that drew some criticism during his final season at Molineux. 

But the former Valencia boss got the best out of the likes of Matt Doherty — now a Spurs player — Raul Jimenez, Pedro Neto and Adama Traore. 

Nuno's style of play at Molineux was all about width when in possession, utilising the wing-backs to create overloads in midfield. 

Explaining his system, he said: "When you attack you have to have width, when you defend you have to be compact.

"We have to be compact, close to each other, knowing that the outside [space] is there but the moment it goes we are there to engage on our defensive process. 

"But the main idea is to be compact when we defend and achieve maximum width when we attack."

Proud to be at Spurs

After being unveiled, Nuno wasted little time in explaining why he had agreed to join Spurs. 

He said: "It’s an enormous pleasure, an honour, a joy to be here. 

"I’m happy and I’m looking forward to starting work. We don’t have any day to lose, we must start working immediately — pre-season starts in a couple of days."

"Having a squad like Tottenham’s, you can only have one DNA, you can only think one way. We have to enjoy the game, we have to play the game. 

"When you have a squad of quality, talented players like we have, the DNA is to make the fans proud, make them enjoy watching. 

"This is our DNA, to make our fans proud of us. There is no question about it, that will happen. We’re going to make them proud and they’re going to enjoy the team, for sure."

Room for improvement

With Harry Kane's future remaining unclear, Nuno must quickly win over a squad that seemed keen to see the back of Mourinho last season.

And the new Spurs boss clearly intends to become a more popular figure than his fellow Portuguese was in the dressing room. 

He added: "Our philosophy is not only about me, it’s about staff, the coaching staff. It’s simple, we improve players, we try to make them better, to improve them every day. 

"In our minds, we put the players in the middle and we see what we can do to make them better. How can we improve them? How can we find a better solution for them to make their job easier? How can we make them perform better? 

"If we achieve that, our team will improve, our club will improve and this is our philosophy."

Tough task ahead

The fact Tottenham finished seventh last season and reached the Carabao Cup final suggests it was far from a disastrous campaign. 

And Nuno admits a hard battle lies ahead as the North Londoners bid to break into the top four. 

He said: "The Premier League is so tough, it’s so demanding. The best teams, the best players, the best managers are here.

"But I like to compete. And to compete is not only on Saturday or Sunday, it’s every day. We have to compete every day, every training session. 

"I like to approach not thinking about winning, but how do we win? How can we be better so we can win more times? 

"First, let’s prepare ourselves. The competition is very close but at the same time we have time to show the players it all requires hard work — a lot of work.

"If we win each and every action, eventually we win the game, so let’s go action by action. 

"Everybody around here should be in the same idea. Let’s give the best of all of us, simple as that. If you generally give the best of you, the environment will be good."

The verdict

With many of Tottenham's players set to report for pre-season training in just over a week, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy had to make a decision. 

And a move for Nuno gradually became the most obvious option. 

He clearly knows how to get the best from a Premier League side but Tottenham are considered to be a bigger club than Wolves — and that means expectations will be higher. 

The main issue is his appointment has resulted in a mixed response from the club's supporters after such a long wait for the right man.

But Nuno will quickly win over the Spurs faithful if his team get off to a flying start in 2021-22.