Roberto De Zerbi didn't publicly thank Cristian Romero for his, albeit limited, contributions to the Premier League relegation battle.
Roberto De Zerbi has named the eight players who were 'crucial' to keeping Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League. The Lilywhites avoided relegation from the top-flight of English football on the final day of the season, beating Everton on home turf.
Spurs plunged into the bottom three back in April when De Zerbi lost his first game in charge. After almost a month in the drop zone, Tottenham leapfrogged West Ham following a statement win over Aston Villa.
Then, despite the Hammers' last-ditch effort to stay up, De Zerbi kept Nuno Espirito Santo's side at arm's length and led the Lilywhites to victory over the Toffees. After the game, the Italian was asked who had been 'crucial' to keeping Spurs in the Premier League.
De Zerbi said: "Dragusin. Dragusin was top because he didn't play, but he was always positive inside the dressing room. Inside the pitch.
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"Bentancur. Because Bentancur, when he came back from the injury, he wanted to play. He came to me to say, ‘hey, I want to play. I'm ready to play.'
"Joao Palhinha, because at the beginning of my time, he didn't play in Sunderland, here with Brighton and Wolverhampton. Ben Davies. Yesterday, he came to the Lodge with us.
"Djed Spence. Before the Chelsea game, he came in my office. Another one to say, ‘I want to play.’ He said, ‘You always speak about the personality, the courage. I'm here, if you want to play with one player,’ and he was fantastic, I love it."
De Zerbi, who still hadn't mentioned Romero, continued: "Micky van de Ven. Great guy, sensitive guy. I spent a lot of time with him, because I consider him the best centre-back, left-centre-back in the Premier League, with Levi Colwill, because he was my former player, and I can't forget him."
De Zerbi added: "But a lot of other players. Richarlison, Archie Gray, I can't say one..."
The Italian raised eyebrows when he left out Romero. The Tottenahm captain, who has been nursing a knee injury in Argentina, wasn't set to attend the Everton clash at the weekend until the very last minute, following backlash from supporters.
Romero was heavily scrutinised when it appeared that he would miss the final game of the Premier League season and instead watch his boyhood club, Belgrano, lock horns with River Plate in the Primera Division final on the same day.
In the end, the Argentina international returned to north London to watch the relegation decider. Speaking to told football.london, Romero's agent, Ciro Palermo, said: "Any suggestion that the trip was made for the purpose of attending football matches is entirely inaccurate.
"More than that, it is a completely fabricated narrative being circulated by people who are unaware of the facts and have no knowledge of the rehabilitation plan that has been in place for weeks.
"Cristian's focus is, and has always been, on recovering as strongly as possible, preparing for the World Cup, and supporting Tottenham Hotspur in every way he can.
"His commitment to the club, his team-mates and the supporters has been evident throughout his time at Tottenham and remains unchanged."