London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

Tottenham’s Nuno admits he is ignoring FA guidance over heading

Tottenham’s Nuno admits he is ignoring FA guidance over heading

Tottenham head-coach Nuno Espirito Santo has admitted he is ignoring new guidance aimed at limiting the number of headers players do in training, insisting heading is "part of the game".
Ahead of this season, the Football Association recommended professional players do no more than 10 "higher force" headers in training per week to reduce the risk of dementia.

Multiple studies have shown a correlation between heading the ball and developing dementia in later life, and this week the family of former Spurs defender Joe Kinnear revealed he is latest ex-professional living with the disease.

Defensive set-pieces have featured prominently in Nuno's training schedule ahead of Sunday's north London derby after Spurs conceded headers from corners in their last two matches, against Chelsea and Wolves.

But asked if set-piece drills were more difficult to practice given the new guidance, Nuno revealed he is ignoring the recommendations, despite being concerned about dementia.

"Good question. That's why we have training sessions without anybody seeing us,” he said.

"I'm concerned with the situation of dementia and what heading the ball can cause. It's a big concern for us but it's part of the game.

"Honestly, I will not lie to you [the media]. I don't count how many times our players head the ball. Maybe I will get myself in trouble for this. But football is jumping, heading. It's part of the game."

Nuno's side go into the derby at Arsenal on the back on a patchy run of form, following back to back 3-0 defeats to Crystal Palace and Chelsea, and Wednesday's win over Wolves in the Carabao Cup third-round.

Spurs collapsed in the second half of both derby defeats after going in level at the interval, and squandered a 2-0 lead at Molineux to draw 2-2 before progressing on penalties.

Nuno said his side must learn to respond to setbacks and likened them to a boxer on the defensive, picking their moments to punch.

The analogy was a reference to Anthony Joshua's prize heavyweight fight against Oleksandr Usyk at Tottenham's stadium on Saturday night, which Nuno has said he will try to watch.

Asked about Spurs' problem responding to setbacks, Nuno said: "It’s real. Even Wednesday, we were in front but the moment that we conceded, we didn’t react well.

"We felt a little bit disorganised. We let the opponent [have] the sensation we were on the back foot, so that’s something we must improve. It happened before and we were not able to react.

"Wednesday was better because in the second-half in the beginning we could easily put the game to bed. So that momentum was ours but it’s something that we must improve on.

"So we are working on that aspect, not only the mental aspect of the situation but how to react as a team.

"First of all, [it's about] confidence," continued the Portuguese.

"That we have. That we must have. Just to use a simple example of boxing, with people talking about the big occasion on Saturday night.

"You cannot spend all the round throwing punches. Sometimes you have to protect yourself. If you get a punch, instead of opening your guard, you should close your guard and respect that your opponent also has these moments.

"So using this simple situation gives us a lot of what we should do. So we are organised, we are stable, we are solid.

“No matter what happens we must keep on doing. We are playing good football. We are looking threatening and looking for the goal. You score, you have to go again. So it takes times but this is the process."

Spurs are set to welcome back Lucas Moura against Arsenal after the Brazilian missed the last two games through injury.

"Having Lucas back gives you another option, and a very good option because Lucas is a very talented player," Nuno said.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×