The Tottenham midfielder has been reawakened by the new head coach at the north London club and cannot speak highly enough of him
Conor Gallagher has revealed that chatty man Roberto De Zerbi has transformed his Tottenham players with constant one-to-one meetings and conversations reminding them of what they once were.
The Italian has shaken Spurs awake at just the right moment and their 2-1 victory at Aston Villa on Sunday dragged them out of the Premier League's bottom three at the expense of West Ham. Gallagher, in particular, has come alive under De Zerbi and grabbed his first goal for Tottenham at Villa Park with a pinpoint low effort from outside the box, coming just over two years since his last away goal in the Premier League at exactly the same venue.
Tottenham are unbeaten in their past three matches under their new head coach, with a draw and two victories, and with two of their remaining three games at home, Gallagher, who arrived for £35million from Atletico Madrid in January, believes De Zerbi has come in at just the right time.
"The gaffer has been brilliant with us. He’s brought the team together. He’s really worked on players individually with one-to-one meetings and one-to-one chats, trying to get that belief and confidence back in the players. He's done that with me and it’s made a big difference," said the 26-year-old.
"I know he’s done that with a lot of the other lads. As a team as well, all the work he’s done on the training pitch and the meeting rooms, it's been fantastic and everyone is on the same page."
De Zerbi is a big Gallagher fan and wanted him when he was a Chelsea player and told football.london on Sunday that he has got that player back again now after his man of the match display at Villa Park.
"Yes, absolutely. When Gallagher plays like this, we play with 12 players because you can find him as a striker, as a midfielder, as a full-back, everywhere on the pitch you can find him!" said the Italian. "Great player, great passion, great qualities."
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The midfielder admits that De Zerbi has used his Blues days as the motivation to get him back into old habits.
"He just reminds me of when I was at my best. He said that second season at Chelsea, when I had a really good season, he just reminded me of that player," said Gallagher "He wants me to be like that again and to not forget how good I can be. He’s done that with a lot of the lads. It’s as simple as that, just trying to remind us of what we were when we were at our best."
De Zerbi has had no better luck with injuries than his predecessors, losing Mohammed Kudus, Xavi Simons and Dominic Solanke in his opening weeks in charge but that has not dimmed his positivity around the team.
"Of course it’s tough losing such big players but that just shows the quality in our squad, to be honest. If we can perform like that with some of our best players injured, it's a great sign," said Gallagher. "It’s something the club and the fans should be excited for and happy.
"It’s a really good feeling because I feel like all the lads, the manager and the staff are all coming together as one, no matter if you’re starting or you're coming on the pitch [as a sub]. We know the situation we’re in, everyone is giving everything they’ve got."
The midfielder knows there is still a lot to be done in the matches against Leeds, Chelsea and Everton if Spurs are to escape the plunge into the Championship.
"The only thing we’re focused on is the next game. This game is gone now, we’ve had a great performance and a really important three points but there’s still a long way to go," he said. "There’s a lot of work to do. We’re fully focused on the next game and hopefully do the same performance and another win."