New Spurs boss Roberto De Zerbi has made an honest admission about what West Ham have done to his side after just one game at the helm.
West Ham climbed out of the Premier League relegation zone with an emphatic 4-0 win over Wolves on Friday night.
That was made sweeter by the fact it pushed bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur into the drop zone as a result.
The Hammers remained out of the bottom three – for just the third time all season – when Tottenham lost Roberto De Zerbi’s first game in charge 1-0 at Sunderland on Sunday.
De Zerbi says West Ham have put fear of relegation into Spurs
West Ham have survival in their own hands after the Spurs loss and De Zerbi has already suffered what looks like a serious injury blow to Cristian Romero.
Now De Zerbi has made an honest West Ham admission after one game as Spurs boss.
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And it suggests the Hammers have dealt a massive psychological blow to Tottenham.
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Ahead of the return of the Premier League after the international break, Paul Merson said West Ham could make Spurs crumble despite the arrival of De Zerbi.
The pundit stated that West Ham beating Wolves would be the ‘worst thing that could ever happen to Tottenham’ because once they were in the bottom three, the pressure would become overwhelming.
Now De Zerbi has admitted West Ham pushing Spurs into the bottom three with six games to go has indeed had a major impact on his players because it has put the realisation and fear of relegation into their minds.
“I think so yeah (the fear of relegation is now the problem for his Spurs players)…” De Zerbi admitted on BBC Sport.
“They have the quality to win one game and the target now, the closest target is to win one game, because if we win a game, we can see everything in a different way.
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“You know me as a coach, but one very important part for my style of coaching is the mental part, to transfer the confidence of the players, to give what they need in terms of mentality and confidence.
“For that, we could play better because during the week they play better because their heads are clean. During the game, it is different for sure. My work to help them, to show them what they do during the week during the game.”
De Zerbi’s comments make it clear the Hammers already have Spurs on the ropes.
De Zerbi knows he has a tough task on his hands to solve the problems at Spurs and West Ham have made things even more difficult for the Italian by dealing such a huge psychological blow this late in the season.
The Hammers have all the momentum after picking up 18 points from 12 games while Tottenham are yet to win a league match in 2026.
The pressure of being the hunted rather than the hunter will be a different test for Nuno Espirito Santo and his players, though.
Spurs face another tough test when they welcome De Zerbi’s old club Brighton to north London next while West Ham go to Crystal Palace on Monday night.
Relegation run-in remaining fixtures: