Chris Davies raids Ange Postecoglou's Tottenham backroom staff to bolster Birmingham set-up

Chris Davies has raided his old club Tottenham to add another face to his new coaching team at Birmingham City in the shape of Nathan Gardiner.

Davies left his role as Ange Postecoglou's senior assistant coach at Spurs this summer in order to take up his first role as a manager at League One side Birmingham City. The 39-year-old has previously been assistant manager to Brendan Rodgers at Leicester and Celtic but is now ploughing his own furrow at the Midlands club following their relegation from the Championship last season.

This month he has moved to take Tottenham's head of sports science Gardiner with him to Birmingham, with the 47-year-old joining as first team assistant coach in Davies' new-look coaching team along new assistant manager Ben Petty.

"Nathan has extensive experience in fitness and conditioning, having worked at the top level of English football for the last 18 years, 14 of which were at Spurs where I worked with him," said Davies. "As well as a deep knowledge of loading and periodisation, Nathan is an excellent communicator amongst both players and staff.

"He is a hardworking and reliable individual, who has made a positive contribution in every club he has been at."

Birmingham said that Gardiner "will assist the performance department to ensure players achieve optimal fitness and conditioning, whilst working closely with the club’s medical department with a focus on recovery and rehabilitation. His expertise will also aid in the monitoring of player loading and the planning and delivery of pre-game preparation".

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Gardiner is a versatile figure in the world of football as he is qualified as a sports scientist, physio and coach after gaining a sports science degree from Loughborough University, a physiotherapy one from Kings College and he has also worked towards a UEFA A Licence in coaching.

football.london reported in March this year that Gardiner had been reappointed as Tottenham's head of sports science, returning to resume his 14-year relationship with the north London club in replacing Sam Pooley, who left Spurs almost 10 years after arriving from AFC Wimbledon.

Gardiner reported into Head of Medicine and Sports Science Geoff Scott, who will reach two decades at Tottenham himself this summer. Gardiner had left Tottenham in October 2020 to take up a role as a first team coach with Fulham, joining Scott Parker during his spell at Craven Cottage.

Gardiner made the news at Spurs back in 2015 when Andros Townsend clashed with him after a game against Aston Villa. The England international, now at Luton, was pictured pushing and arguing with the fitness coach and was subsequently dropped from Mauricio Pochettino's squad and would not play for Tottenham again, dropped to the Under-21s before leaving for Newcastle.

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