De Zerbi started his news conference by addressing what he says is the "most important challenge now" which is to "silence the voice inside of us".
He added: "This voice produces negative thoughts and the voice says we are unlucky, we have too many injuries. I think it's all negative things and it's rubbish. I want to keep the focus on ourselves and the quality of my players. It's not the best moment for us, a tough moment, but the losers cry, they think negative and I don't want people close to me crying or to think a different way than me. I heard no, it's impossible, we are crying, everyone, we are relegated, no? Not yet and we have to die on the pitch. We have to play, we have to fight, we have two points less than West Ham."
On facing Villa he said: "We go to play against one of the best teams in this moment in the Premier League but if Tottenham win at Villa Park it's not a miracle. Maybe we lose but we have the quality to win this game. It's not a miracle. We have to be positive."
On whether James Maddison will play against Aston Villa or Leeds, De Zerbi added: "He is a special player but we have to consider physical condition, a lot of things, but I think he can be important in the next three games."
De Zerbi confirmed Guglielmo Vicario is not available, while Dominic Solanke will be out for the Villa game with a hamstring injury, with no timeframe offered for his return. Destiny Udogie is available according to the Spurs boss but he does not know if he will be able to start.
Asked whether there is too much negativity in football, he said: "Yes. We [have] a lot of injuries, we lost two points with Brighton and in Sunderland we conceded one stupid goal and didn't deserve to lose the game, just in my time."
Finally on their mentality, the Spurs boss said: "I feel this pressure to change the perspective - the same perspective you can see in a different way."