Roberto De Zerbi has been discussing the relegation battle after his side claimed their first win in the Premier League in 2026, beating Wolves 1-0 with a late goal
Focusing on the results of Nottingham Forest and West Ham will make life “too tough” for Tottenham, their manager Roberto De Zerbi said as the Premier League relegation battle heated up on Saturday.
Vitor Pereira's side put some daylight between themselves and the drop zone with a terrific 5-0 thumping of Sunderland on Friday night, and it proved to be an important result.
As on Saturday, both West Ham and Spurs scored late goals to bring the Reds’ cushion back down to five points.
West Ham’s result was the more dramatic of the two, as they conceded an 88th-minute equaliser at home to Everton, only for Callum Wilson to grab the Hammers an added-time winner.
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Spurs ended their 15-game winless run in the Premier League as Joao Palhinha prodded in an 82nd-minute goal to beat already-relegated Wolves 1-0.
With West Ham victorious, it means Tottenham remain in the bottom three, but De Zerbi knows that thinking about the results of the other sides in the relegation battle will only put too much pressure on his players.
“I hope this result can change something in our head,” De Zerbi said. “For the other results, it's already very tough to win a game for us. If we put our heads in the other teams it will be too tough for me.
“The players know what they can do on the pitch, especially this season. We didn't win a game in 2026 but in the Champions League, they finished fourth.
“They have to be positive and they have to feel full of confidence because they are good and (should not look at) the other results.”
West Ham in 17th are three points behind Forest, but their focus is purely on keeping ahead of Spurs. Match-winner Wilson said: “We're the ones in the driving seat at the moment and if we take care of our own results, it should stand us in good stead come the end of the season.
“The lads are buzzing. You do ultimately look at other results, we knew they (Tottenham) were playing a game in which they were the favourites, so we had to do our job.”