Roberto De Zerbi thinks Tottenham Hotspur‘s players “don’t need a coach”, rather, they are looking for someone to be a “father” figure.
The Italian took charge of his first game as Tottenham head coach against Sunderland on Sunday, and it was a rude awakening to the job he’s got on his hands in N17.
His Spurs side once again, as they have done far too many times this season, lacked quality in the key moments, and passed up numerous chances to get a result from their trip to Wearside.
In the end, they go back to North London with a deserved 14th-straight Premier League game without a win, and having taken a considerable step closer to the Championship.
Tottenham have six games to save their season, but according to De Zerbi, they don’t need to be coached out of the situation and performances they’re putting in.
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What Roberto De Zerbi said about Tottenham players
Tottenham being in the relegation zone is a reality check for this Lilywhites group, and it should, if it wasn’t blindingly obvious anyway, send a clear message to them that this threat of second tier football is very much real.
Spurs now sit two points behind West Ham in 17th, and have the small task of welcoming Brighton to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium next, in a De Zerbi reunion party that, well, may not have much of a party feel about it.
Fabian Hurzeler’s Seagulls have won five of their last six league games, with their only defeat in this time period coming against current leaders Arsenal, against whom they were only just beaten 1-0 at home.
Tottenham haven’t won a league game in the calendar year of 2026 so far, and have lost seven of their last eight top-flight matches.
However, speaking in a post-match interview via Match of the Day on X, De Zerbi doesn’t believe his players need him to be their coach, and instead, be a fatherly figure to them.
“I can (be) a big brother. A father. They don’t need a coach,” De Zerbi said.
“They don’t need to improve (in terms of) football. They don’t need to play better.
“Okay, they can play better and they will play better when we will reach a different level of confidence (in) ourselves, and these things are crucial for us in this moment.”
Sorry De Zerbi, but Tottenham’s players do need a coach
You don’t go 14-straight league games because you’re unlucky: it’s because you’re not playing well enough, and by extension, not being coached well enough.
As per Sofascore, Tottenham have missed 1.1 of their 1.7 big chances created per league game this season, as well as only keeping seven clean sheets with 40 goals scored and 51 conceded.
Richarlison is Spurs’ top scorer with nine league goals, with the his closest rivals being Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero with four each respectively, whilst Mohammed Kudus tops the assist chart with five.
Against Sunderland, they made just 39 final third entries compared to the Black Cats’ 59, whilst winning 39 per cent of their ground duels and completing just five of their 19 dribble attempts.
Only eight tackles were made by Spurs players in the whole game. Tottenham have already sacked two managers this season, so, it’s pretty clear that coaching has been a major problem this term.
Sure, Tottenham’s players are running low on confidence, and some may need an arm round them, but try telling those Spurs fans that made the long journey up to the Stadium of Light on Sunday that the team they watched don’t need any coaching input.
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