Roberto De Zerbi is hoping that the attitude at Tottenham will change when they claim success
Roberto De Zerbi is desperate for Tottenham to taste that winning feeling again, regardless of what they do to keep their hopes alive.
De Zerbi takes charge of Spurs for the second time tomorrow and welcomes his former club Brighton to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in what feels like a must-win game given the other fixtures this weekend.
Relegation rivals Leeds and Nottingham Forest hold second place, Wolves and Burnley, respectively, and on Monday West Ham travel to a Crystal Palace side who were seen reeling after their Conference League win over Fiorentina in Italy last night.
Spurs haven’t won in the Premier League since December 28 when Thomas Frank was in charge – Igor Tudor is gone – and De Zerbi knows three points tomorrow could do wonders for the team’s morale.
“I think it’s important to win the game, not just the table,” he said. “But also because we have to feel again, what is good [feeling] to win the game and what it can do.”
De Zerbi hopes the squad’s training will help struggling Tottenham
De Zerbi took his players out for dinner this week and says he is happy to do so again if they face Brighton.
“If we win, I’m ready to pay every week for one dinner,” said the Italian. “I believe in people, in human relations, in the spirit and soul of the players, before we talk about tactics, management, set things, these things are important but I work with people.
“There are many players but we need to build or find the best relationship we can find and I want to see on the field, players who help their colleagues to reach the same title. If we don’t reach our target, everyone will lose something in their work.”
Spurs captain Cristian Romero is out this season, and may miss the World Cup, after a collision with Sunderland’s Brian Brobbey last weekend and De Zerbi says he feels the Argentine’s pain.
“I am very sorry for him and his injuries,” said De Zerbi. “First of all, people must know that he is suffering because of this injury and he can no longer play for us this season. He is a good captain for us and for Tottenham. We have to have a positive view, we have Radu Dragusin and Kevin Danso, they are very good to play and they give us quality with football.”
De Zerbi has been impressed with Maddison’s injury-hit impact
James Maddison is closing in on his return to training this week and De Zerbi has been impressed with the former Leicester City player’s influence on the squad.
De Zerbi said: “There are many different types of leaders, real leaders who speak from within the dressing room.
“I would like to reach this level with Micky van de Ven, [Joao] Palhinha is a good host [Rodrigo] Bentancur, I would like to push too [Dominic] Solanke, is one of the best strikers in the Premier League. I want him to be strong as an actor on the field.”
Although it is so important, De Zerbi says that he will not rush Maddison’s return. “I don’t want to push too hard since we lost [Mohammed] Kudus this way. I will use the players when they are ready to play and start training, it is better to lose one game than to be injured in another.”
Tottenham start the weekend in 18th place following last week’s 1-0 defeat at Sunderland.
They are two points behind West Ham, three behind Forest and six behind Leeds, who won against Manchester United on Monday night.
