Roberto De Zerbi began his life as Tottenham Hotspur’s head coach by outlining his mindset and his knowledge of Spurs games this season.
Tottenham Hotspur are in a very precarious position in the Premier League this season, with relegation a very real possibility.
Spurs find themselves just one point above the bottom three and, with seven games left in the league this season, it is anyone’s guess who will be relegated and who will remain in the English top flight.
Tottenham, however, have made their final throw of the dice, sacking Igor Tudor after an underwhelming 44 days in the Spurs dugout and hiring Roberto De Zerbi to help pull off the great escape.
There is no denying the 46-year-old is a talented head coach with Premier League experience, and Tottenham will hope that is enough to see them through what has been a turbulent season thus far.
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Tottenham Roberto De Zerbi speaks on appointment and survival hopes
The new Spurs boss has now sat down with the Tottenham media team to share his thoughts on the club’s hopes of survival this campaign.
De Zerbi made clear that his love for football has seen him monitor Spurs in recent seasons and that he is confident the squad has the quality needed to beat the drop.
Addressing how he feels about taking on the role, and his belief in the squad, De Zerbi told official Tottenham media: “I’m very happy and very proud to be here. I consider Tottenham one of the most important clubs in the world, so I’m very happy.
“I have a big responsibility, but it’s a big challenge for me, and I’m looking forward to start and to work with the players and to win some games.
“I watched a lot of games, especially in the last period. I know very well the players. I love football, so I watch many, many games per week. I know everything. I know it’s a tough moment for Tottenham, but I know very well it’s a tough moment. It’s a difficult moment for everyone at Tottenham. I think we have the right qualities to come out of this moment.
“I believe in the players. I think we have to remember who we are and who the players are, because we have very big players and we have to work on their confidence and qualities. They have to show what they are and what they are good at playing.”
Spurs fixtures in focus for Roberto De Zerbi
Tottenham are not in action this weekend but will return next weekend with a clash against newly promoted Sunderland, who have been impressive this season and sit 11th in the league table.
When Spurs last met the Black Cats, the match ended in a draw earlier this season; however, a lot has changed since then.
Looking ahead to the fixtures and stressing a game-by-game approach, De Zerbi outlined his focus for the run-in.
He added, “I think we have to be focused just on the Sunderland game. I do not want to speak about the schedule or the Brighton game or the Wolverhampton game. Game by game, we have to prepare the players to win the game and to be focused just on the game.
“We have to play with courage. We have to play with the qualities of the players, because if I accept this challenge, it is because I have a big confidence in the players and the style of the history of Tottenham football is a very clear style of play.”
The former Brighton manager also opened up on how vital support from the Spurs fans is going into the final games of the season.
He called for togetherness and for his players to show the right mentality and attitude to give back to the supporters who are sure to play their role in the relegation dog fight.
He continued: “The fans in the last seven games, especially in this moment, are crucial. We have to be together. They have to stay close to the players, help the players and the players have to show the right mentality, the right attitude to give back to the fans’ satisfaction and what they want to see on the pitch. Because after this part of the season, I think we can become great in the future.”