Roberto De Zerbi has wined and dined his Tottenham players in a fancy London restaurant, shown them videos of where they've gone wrong and now it's time for a feast of goals.
Spurs are yet to score in their opening four Premier League games this season, despite a near £400million rebuild over the summer, and will make the trip on Tuesday to Liverpool in the Carabao Cup hoping to find the back of the net. Anfield, however, has not been a happy hunting ground for the north London club, without a victory there in 17 matches since May 2011.
De Zerbi took his players out to the fancy Mediterranean restaurant Bacchanalia in Mayfair last season and it sparked an upturn in form that helped save the club from relegation. He did so again last week as he looks to get Spurs on track for a season competing at the other end of the table.
"We went last week for dinner with all the players. There was something to eat, yes, some water, some beers, yes," admitted the 47-year-old. "I paid because I'm the coach, I'm older than the players and it's a pleasure going for dinner with them."
Too many expensive meals with a large squad though will surely end up draining the bonus De Zerbi would have got for keeping Tottenham up last season?
"Yes, but as long as I've got the money for my cigarettes, no problem!" quipped the Italian with a grin.
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Now it's time for a Spurs side featuring plenty of attacking talent at different levels of fitness to start putting the ball in the net.
"I think they are very good players. We are building a new project, a new team. If we want to change from the last two or three seasons we have to be stronger mentally and believe in the quality of the players and the decisions we made," said De Zerbi.
"You can change players or change coaches, change, change change, change, and nothing changes. Or you stay with the head, stay humble, with the right spirit to work. I believe in my players. I hope they believe in themselves like I believe in them."
The Tottenham boss told football.london that he told his players in a meeting on Monday that he will be creating video clips for them to ensure they start making the right decisions in the final third.
"Video is very important, because you have a different perspective on the pitch with the video," he explained. "Working collectively in a better way but also individually – individual work, individual exercise to improve the assists, the cross, attacking [the] first post," he said.
"For example, Andy Robertson in that position was a plan of the game [vs Everton]. And if you remember the game … [Brennan] Johnson in the right side [for Everton], with Robertson higher, Tonali wider and Marmoush in the pocket, Johnson was confused, no? Yes. But when Robertson crossed we attacked the goal not in the right way, not in the right position with the striker, with the opposite winger, with the two midfielders in the pocket.
"They have to come inside. Maybe not on goal directly but maybe on the second ball. Or the reaction when we lost the balls in that position – in the goal areas or in the last third of the pitch. We have to be more aggressive because sometimes you can score directly; sometimes you are playing, you lose the ball, you react, you regain the ball and you score in that moment."
The Spurs players are also doing plenty of extra shooting practice but because they choose to, not because De Zerbi has ordered it.
"What do you think? We are doing or not? We are doing. We are doing," he said. "Before Saturday, before the Everton game, and I can't say nothing because the players want to work more and more. No, it's not the coach, you know, 'stay 30 minutes more'. No, the players want to stay. The players want to improve. The players feel we are not winning games and we are not scoring."
One player that De Zerbi believes has the potential to score goals in his team is Dominic Solanke but he needs the England striker to enjoy a consistent period without injury.
"I spoke with him and I would like to manage him in the best way I can. In the physical aspect and in mental aspect, because he's a sensitive guy, he needs to feel full confidence and from myself he has big, big confidence," said the former Brighton boss.
“I believe he can score 10-15 goals for sure. He's already scored in Bournemouth and why not he can score in Tottenham? It's the same sport, different stadium, no pressure, because in our stadium if we push, if we play well, the fans are with us.
"And like all other stadiums, if you lose or if you don't score, you can receive criticism, but it's a normal part, it's a normal situation in football. And Dominic is crucial for us. Like Savio, like Maddison, like the attackers. The attackers are capable of giving us quality, because we need qualities, we need talent, we need individual skills, individual qualities."
So is Solanke sensitive to criticism?
"No, no, no. Sensitive because he’s a smart guy. Sensitive guys are smart. One who is not smart is impossible to be sensitive," said the Tottenham boss. "Maybe many injuries, maybe he doesn’t feel in the best physical condition. Maybe he would like to do something different on the pitch.
“But now he’s not fit yet. His physical condition is good but he has to play. [Against Liverpool] I would like him to play part of the game. I don’t know if at the beginning or at the end but one part of the game. It can be important for him and then I think he comes back the player who was in Bournemouth.
"I remember Brighton against Bournemouth in the Amex Stadium, he was incredible. I said to my assistant, ‘Who is this striker?’ My challenge is to help him and to put him in the right condition to score. Better assistance, for sure, improvement in his physical condition and then the striker we already have in the squad."
When asked what gives him the confidence he can get Solanke back to that player he was at Bournemouth, De Zerbi said: "I can answer, ‘Why not?’ I can’t understand why I have to think negative. OK, because the last season he was injured many times, yes.
“But why not? It’s not the same last season [compared to] this season. This season, I repeat, we have a top physical, medical staff. We have not three games per week. For example tomorrow, three days after the last game in Everton, I have to consider for Dominic it’s maybe better one part of the game.
"I spoke with him this morning to understand his condition. Maybe tired, more tired, but we have to believe in the changes more than last season."
And what of Mohammed Kudus and James Maddison after their long injury absences with only substitute appearances since?
"Kudus can start, because in terms of physical condition he's better. James, not yet," he explained.
There will be no Richarlison though after De Zerbi confirmed the Brazilian will not feature against Liverpool, a side he has scored six times against since 2019. The 29-year-old was left out of Spurs' Premier League squad for the season ahead but would have been eligible for the Carabao Cup. He later wrote "Why?" in an Instagram Story under De Zerbi's quotes that he would not be included.
Is there any way back for the striker?
“I don’t know. It’s not for me this question," said De Zerbi before adding: "Anyway, we lost in Brentford 3-0 with Richarlison. Maybe you forgot. Just to remind you."
After Tuesday's trip to Liverpool and then Saturday's lunchtime kick-off against Aston Villa at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the new longer international break arrives, with Spurs' next game then not on the schedule until October 10 at Old Trafford. Just don't ask De Zerbi what he makes of the new format.
"Don’t you think I have enough problems without thinking about the international break?" he said with a grimace. "I don’t know, we’ll have to see. Maybe it’s better because a break every month is worse but we’ll see."
De Zerbi is considering a couple of different plans for his players who are not on international duty during the long Premier League break as many of them will need to improve their fitness in that period without matches.
"I want to wait and see the call-ups and then we have two plans and we organise everything," he said.
De Zerbi is looking forward to what comes next at Tottenham regardless of the current noise around the lack of goals.
"I am happy to work at Tottenham, proud to be here and I keep my seat with passion and the best way I can, it's a normal part of the project," he said. "It’s not right to say the names of the teams but in the last 10 years there are teams in the Premier League who spent money and changed many players and the change was not so immediate.
"Sometimes you think it can be better in the beginning, sometimes stronger, but the normal plan, the normal project is a normal process."