Former Tottenham Hotspur defender Ryan Sessegnon has offered his verdict on all five of the Spurs coaches he has played under.

Sessegnon, 24, who is now back at Fulham, was signed from the Cottagers by Mauricio Pochettino in the summer of 2019. Injuries tormented his time in north London and as a result of those and a loan spell at Hoffenheim, he did not play too many games for Tottenham and rejoined Fulham in the summer.

He does, though, hold an opinion on all of the coaches who tried their luck managing Spurs after Pochettino was sacked by the club in November 2019 – with none of them fortunate enough to end the club's trophy drought.

Mauricio Pochettino

Pochettino loved Sessegnon's dynamic performances for Fulham in the Championship and the Premier League so much, Tottenham snapped him up for £25million. However, he suffered an injury almost immediately, and with Pochettino preferring to keep crocked players separated from those who are playing, Sessegnon admitted he found himself on the outside.

In an interview with Rising Ballers, Sessegnon said: "I turned up to the club and I am not training, I’m in the physio room. At that time, not having too much contact with Pochettino and the team, because at that time, he did not want injured players to be in meetings and stuff like that. We were kept separate from that.

"Obviously, he welcomed me to the club and that kind of stuff, but I was not in and around the players at the time because I was injured. By the time I got fit, I went to England U21s camp in November 2019, that season, and when I came back, Poch had got sacked. I did not really have too much of a relationship with him, even though he brought me to the club, because I was never fit for him.”

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Jose Mourinho

In terms of first-team action, Mourinho was the first Tottenham manager to really involve Sessegnon. The versatile left-back, who also starred as a left-winger, scored on his Tottenham debut against Bayern Munich. While appearances would soon dry up as a result of injuries again, Sessegnon saw enough of Mourinho to be impressed.

He added: “Mourinho was a very good manager. [He was] a good guy, very straightforward and honest guy. I remember at the time when he came in, everyone was buzzing. Everyone was sad that Poch had left, but bringing in a manager of his stature to the club, was very exciting for everyone around the club.

“He started off the season very well when he first came in, he was winning most games, all that kind of stuff, but I wasn’t really involved. Much of his time there I wasn’t really involved, to be honest with you, I was kind of left out. It was more just training with me and him.”

Nuno Espirito Santo

Sessegnon thought he had the perfect manager to play under in Nuno Espirito Santo. The Portuguese boss had previously tried to sign him at Wolverhampton Wanderers and his style of football utilised dynamic full-backs who can defend and attack.

A promising meeting started their relationship, but things took a turn for both parties when injuries struck down Sessegnon again. "I came back to a new manager and it was Nuno Espirito Santo. He was a very good manager, he also wanted me when he was at Wolves so we had a good relationship straight away. When I came back to pre-season, I think it was the second or third session, I got injured.

"He did not really get to see me train or play or anything like that. It was frustrating, I really wanted to prove myself to this new coach. By the time I was ready to come back, he got sacked and he was gone. He got sacked in November and it was like that cycle from Poch to Mourinho. It was the same thing again.”

Antonio Conte

Out of all the managers Sessegnon had at Spurs, Conte was the one who believed in him most. While he only made 14 appearances under Ange Postecoglou, Pochettino, Mourinho and Santo, Sessegnon made 42 appearances under the Italian manager.

When asked about the ex-Chelsea manager's methods, Sessegnon did not hesitate to answer. While laughing, Sessegnon said: "He [Santo] went and then Conte came in. He was intense, in a good way. I loved him to be honest with you. He was a very good coach, honest and he helped me a lot.

"He just made us run. Tactically, he was one of the best coaches I have worked under.”

Ange Postecoglou

Injuries and the arrival of Destiny Udogie immediately restricted Sessegnon's opportunities under the Australian. The defender only made two appearances under Postecoglou last season.

However, Sessegnon still managed to work with the ex-Celtic manager enough to get an opinion on him. Sessegnon said: "When he [Conte] went, they brought in Ange Postecoglou. He is a very good coach, a very good guy. I’ve come back the following season, ready again. I’ve gone away, done my stuff, ready to go again. In pre-season, in one of the training sessions, I got injured again.

"That’s how it kind of started with me under him. I think I was in training, I took a shot and I remember it was crazy, because we was doing this transition and I was playing right wing. I cut inside, shot, into the top corner, but because I felt something, I didn’t care about the shot. When it happened, I knew the feeling of how it felt. I remember walking out of the session, going to the physio and that kind of stuff. I was devastated."