Tottenham were beaten 1-0 by Sunderland in Roberto De Zerbi's first game as manager, leaving them two points adrift of safety in their fight to avoid relegation
Jamie Carragher believes that 'awful' Tottenham will go down after Roberto De Zerbi's first game as manager ended in defeat. Spurs fell to a limp 1-0 loss away to Sunderland in their first game since parting ways with Igor Tudor.
Languishing in the relegation zone, Tottenham are now two points from safety with six games remaining, as West Ham and Nottingham Forest both picked up points over the weekend. And Carragher can't see De Zerbi, who's been appointed on a five-year deal, turning things around.
"Normally, a new manager comes in and you say, 'It's his first game, that (their style of play) has to go out the window'," Carragher began on Sky Sports. "It had to go out the window for Igor Tudor and it's the same for Roberto de Zerbi because of where they find themselves.
"I can't believe it. Tottenham look like they're going to go down. The other teams have something going for them. One point in 24 You look at fixtures, you think that's a good game for Tottenham but they're awful.
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"Do you think Tottenham will go to Wolves, bottom of the league, and win? No chance."
His stinging verdict laid bare Spurs' task to avoid a first relegation since 1977. De Zerbi's side will play Brighton, Leeds and Everton at home and travel to Wolves, Aston Villa and Chelsea before the end of the season.
Tottenham were plunged into the bottom three on Friday after West Ham beat Wolves 4-0. Forest also took a step closer to safety by drawing 1-1 at home to Villa, keeping them above West Ham in 16th place.
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Assessing the loss, De Zerbi said: "I think we played a good game, not enough to win but we didn't deserve to lose. We have to accept and move on.
"We played a good game. We have enough quality to come out from this difficult moment. I'm sorry for the result, I'm sorry for the [Cristian] Romero injury and I hope for us and for him that it is not important. We had three or four clear chances to score.
"We can be better, especially to find the play between the lines. We made two or three mistakes in the last 15 metres and we have to move on into the next game. I spoke with the players five minutes ago and I said that I understand it has been a very tough season. It is a tough moment for everyone and we have to react with the right spirit. The quality of the players are amazing."