Tottenham are stranded in the relegation zone with just six games to go, and the prospect of playing Championship football next season is becoming a daunting reality
Tottenham have been told that they won't come straight back up to the Premier League next season if their shock relegation is confirmed. Spurs are languishing two points from safety in 18th place, having been plunged into the relegation zone last week.
A sickening cocktail of results including Sunday's limp 1-0 loss away to Sunderland, wins for both West Ham and Leeds, and a draw for Nottingham Forest at the weekend has given new manager Roberto De Zerbi an even tougher task than when he signed his five-year contract last month.
De Zerbi insists that he'll be in charge next term come what may, suggesting that he'd be up for the fight in the Championship. But ex-Premier League defender Mikael Silvestre reckons that 'shambolic' Spurs will be in England's second tier for a least two seasons if they go down next month.
"The issue they now have is that they look like they are going down - and I believe they will be relegated," Silvestre told Ladbrokes at the launch of Ladisfaction. "But once they do go down, how difficult is it for that team to jump back in and get promoted again?
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"You know, the players who are there now… I don't think they have the mentality to play in the Championship. They have got a huge task on their hands in the summer if they do go down… and that looks more and more likely to be the case."
The former Manchester United and Arsenal star also outlined the rigours of Championship football, telling Tottenham's players that 'technical qualities are not enough' for promotion to the top flight. "You know, in that division, you need to show certain characteristics, you need to fight, you need to win scruffy games; it's not just about being technical," Silvestre added.
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"And so far this season, we haven't seen any of those characteristics, so it's not to say if they went down, they would come straight back up. It's such a tough and demanding division, you know.
"Technical qualities are not enough. Between now and the end of the season, it’s not about playing well at all; it's about fighting and grabbing points."