Vic would love going back for Wan last time
VICTOR WANYAMA would love to go back to Tottenham one last time, to say goodbye to the supporters.
The Kenyan, 29, endured a tough time under Mauricio Pochettino and Jose Mourinho as he tried to establish himself in the Spurs midfield.
He arrived from Southampton in 2016 and made 97 appearances for the club before departing for Montreal last year.
Now enjoying life in the MLS under the management of Thierry Henry, Wanyama has only one thing he would like to put right.
“If there is any regret it was the way I left Tottenham without the chance to play in front of the fans to say thank you and bow out properly,” he said.
“I thought the arrival of Mourinho would have helped me get back into the team after not playing too much during Mauricio’s final year.
“It was a hard time for the club and everyone but normally when a new manager comes, there is the feeling that we all can get into the team.
“But after a few weeks I knew I wasn’t in Mourinho’s plans too, not that he told me that – but from the training sessions and his level of engagement with me I knew I wasn’t one of the people he wanted.
“I had a meeting with him when he first came in and he said he wanted me but I would have to wait for my time but normally you’d have to look beyond the words to see if he meant it and I didn’t see that.”
The change of manager and Wanyama suffering a long-term knee injury perhaps made his departure inevitable and he can look back and see where things started to go wrong.
The deflation that surrounded the club following defeat against Liverpool in the Champions League Final took its toll on many, not least Pochettino, who was sacked when the 2019-20 season got off to a poor start.
Wanyama said: “He’ll always be one of the top managers in the world but I guess that is the nature of his job.
“The results weren’t good and he tried all he could.
“I think after the Champions League Final we were all fatigued, mentally and emotionally, and just couldn’t go again which was a shame.”
In March last year Wanyama swapped North London for North America and after playing 21 league games last season to prove his fitness, he is ready for a new campaign.
He said: “I am enjoying it here, the people are really nice.
“Mostly people don’t know about the MLS and how tough it is and just think that it is a soft league but it’s not.”