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Tottenham Hotspur manager Roberto De Zerbi has insisted he has complete buy-in from the Spurs players, who fully believe what he is telling them.
Spurs are desperately fighting to retain their Premier League status and brought in former Brighton boss De Zerbi to work miracles late in the season.
He has not managed to guide Tottenham to a win in either of his two games in charge yet and there were question marks over his team selection in a loss at Sunderland.
Today De Zerbi takes his Tottenham side to play Wolves – match preview here – with the game considered very much a must win.
Wolves, already relegated, will come into the match playing for pride, while Spurs’ recent form suggests that they must be at their very best to take all three points, having failed to register a single league win this calendar year.
Failure to record three points on Saturday would see Tottenham equal their longest-ever run without a league victory, which was 16 from 1934 to 1935.
The Lilywhites played their last league game against Brighton where Georginio Rutter’s strike in stoppage time denied Spurs victory as the game ended 2-2, with Pedro Porro and Xavi Simons on the scoresheet.
Opponents Result Liverpool 1-3 Liverpool 2-1 Aston Villa 2-0 Wolves’ last three home games
De Zerbi insists that he is happy to work at Tottenham, highlighting the professional environment at the club that he has found since walking through the door.
The Italian manager is pleased with the response he has had from the players, who he sees fully buying into his methods, not least because he has been able to understand how much they are suffering from not winning games.
He dismissed criticism surrounding the players, stressing that the squad are made up of serious individuals.
The 46-years-old believes that a single win, which Spurs will hope to get at Wolves today, could shift momentum and help turn their season around.
Speaking in a press conference (14:46), he said: “I’m happy to work here because the part of the staff I found when I came is special as a professional and the players are the same.
“They are following me. They are good guys.
“Sometimes when one team is losing too many games the rumours are not nice.
“People speak about not too much serious players, but it’s not like this in this case. I found good players, serious players. They follow me.
“They believe in my words because I am able to recognise the eyes of the players.
“We are suffering. They are suffering because it’s not easy to play for Tottenham in this position of the table.
“They have to be stronger and they have to live to win a game.
“We have to live every part of the day, waiting for a win, preparing for a win because I think with a win we can change this part of the season.”
Tottenham will be without left back Destiny Udogie this afternoon because of a muscular problem while midfielder Pape Matar Sarr is unavailable with a shoulder problem.
Goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario continues to be sidelined due to a hernia.
Spurs face a tough task at Molineux, where they have not won a league game since 2021, as they look to take all three points in their fight for survival.