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Former Premier League striker Chris Sutton says Roberto de Zerbi has gone into Tottenham "and put his coaching principles aside" in order to try and save them from relegation.

De Zerbi's reign started with defeat at Sunderland, meaning Spurs are still winless in 2026 in the Premier League.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club about the tough job De Zerbi has, Sutton said: "He is a pure coach, but he has said the team don't need to be coached and that means they are that low on confidence they are not ready for him to go in and play the De Zerbi brand of football.

"It is just about getting them over the line and I think he is doing the right thing, but it is pathetic really.

"I was looking at their bench on the weekend and it's an expensive bench, let alone the first team. How Tottenham are in this position is just incredible. The players have to take a great deal of responsibility.

"In De Zerbi's early days it is just about trying to lift them and keep them on side.

"He has gone in and put his coaching principles aside and will give them a good pat on the back to try and keep them up."

The Observer's Rory Smith says De Zerbi has taken a "firefighter's approach" and is being "pragmatic".

Smith said: "De Zerbi's said 'I'll put this on hold until the summer. Let's stay up and then we can do the playing out from the back stuff.'"

We asked for your views on how big a blow it is for Spurs to lose captain Cristian Romero for the rest of the season after his injury at Sunderland.

Here are some of your comments:

Deep: This team is going to benefit from the loss of Romero. He isn't a leader and his disciplinary issues have never helped. He was never crying for us (he's going to Athleti in the summer!), he was crying for his national team. He doesn't care if we go down and the team is better off without him! A solid defender like Danso, with that long throw as well, will do us the world of good. Hopefully the loss of this dreadful captain will allow someone to step up and really lead this team.

I do feel for the lad though, he might miss the World Cup.

KH: This is not a blow at all. When we needed him he got idiotic suspensions and has shown zero leadership on or off the pitch. I'd far rather have Danso playing.

Terry: It's nice to hear that Romero is out for the rest of the season. Maybe now Spurs can replace him with a better defender that really fights for the team, because Romero certainly didn't. It's a shame that when he wanted to leave earlier in the season they didn't let him go. If they had we wouldn't be in this position now.

John: The loss of Romero is no big deal, he is a yellow card waiting to happen in every match as at Sunderland. Danso, who will be his replacement, is a very good player with a long throw as well. Romero has been guilty of not leading from the front, of jogging back when the opposition break a fast attack forward. This was highlighted on Match of the Day. I'm not sad to be seeing the back of him. What is actually needed is a creative midfielder and that's something we just haven't got.

Douglas: Pity for Romero, but a blessing in disguise for Spurs. A good defender, but a poor leader. The worst discipline at the club, maybe even in the league. Spurs need to appoint a proper leader who sets the example for the rest of the team to follow and now is the perfect time to do it.

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Tottenham captain Cristian Romero is set to miss the rest of the season with the knee injury he sustained in their 1-0 defeat at Sunderland.

Argentina defender Romero, 27, looked visibly upset as he limped off following a collision with goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky in the Premier League fixture at the Stadium of Light on Sunday.

It raised concerns he may have incurred an injury serious enough to rule him out of Tottenham's final six games as they battle to avoid relegation.

Following tests, Romero is now expected to miss up to eight weeks with a high-grade partial tear of his medial cruciate ligament.

His chances of being part of Argentina's squad for this summer's World Cup are also left hanging in the balance.

Romero's absence is a major setback for newly-appointed head coach Roberto de Zerbi as he bids to keep Tottenham in the top flight.

De Zerbi said after the match that Romero was a "good player with a big personality" and a "crucial player" for Spurs.

Tottenham are in advanced talks over a free transfer for Liverpool defender Andy Robertson this summer.

Robertson confirmed last week he is leaving Anfield after nine years at the club when his contract expires this summer.

Spurs have a long-term interest in the 32-year-old left-back and tried to sign him during the January transfer window but Liverpool were not prepared to let him leave.

Tottenham remain committed to signing the Scotland captain and while sources insist a full agreement is yet to be reached, discussions are understood to be at an advanced stage.

Any deal, however, is contingent on Spurs staying in the Premier League.

We asked for your thoughts after Sunday's Premier League game between Sunderland and Tottenham Hotspur.

Here are some of your comments:

Sunderland fans

Adrian: Three points off fifth and a Champions League slot. Who'd have predicted that this time last year?

Robert: Another Superb performance by this young Sunderland side. Regis le Bris is, in my opinion, a good candidate for manager/head coach of the season. He has built a virtually new team in his debut Premier League campaign. He has developed a wonderful team spirit and togetherness that is excellent. Magnificent results have come thick and fast. I could not be happier. Ha'way the lads. And I'm feeling "Glad All Over" as it's the song the Crystal Palace fans sing when they score a goal and win.

Stephen: More proof that we need an "out-and-out" goalscorer. We created many more chances than Spurs yet our only goal came from a deflection.

Graham: Not the best this season but, as always, a team performance and Granit Xhaka pulling the strings - as usual.

Tottenham fans

Peter: A much better performance. Chances created but lack of quality upfront meant they weren't taken. I would like to have seen more urgency towards the end. You don't play your way out of the bottom three. As for the goal, one of those conceded by team at the bottom. We deserved a point, but that's not how football works. Still hope, three wins a minimum. COYS.

Colin: Listless. Boring. Pathetic. Big mistake not playing Xavi Simons until 95th minute. So many under performing players. Play the under-21s' side next week.

Roger: In the days when we had Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son consistently contributing over 30 goals a season we could afford to concede a few goals and still pick up the points. Unfortunately, they have been replace by very expensive flops when it comes to scoring. Likewise in midfield we have never come close to replacing the quality of Christian Eriksen, Dele Ali and Mousa Dembele. That is why we are where we are and unfortunately there are no quick fixes. Against Sunderland confirmed that hard work and effort alone will not be enough, we are going to have to rely on a lot of good luck if we are to avoid relegation.

The sight of new Tottenham Hotspur head coach Roberto de Zerbi watching in anguish as captain Cristian Romero walked past him in tears may yet become the lasting image of a season slowly sliding towards the Championship.

De Zerbi's hopes of a fast start after succeeding Igor Tudor, the madcap experiment of the Croat's appointment lasting only 44 days, ended brutally as Spurs failed to show any significant response to the Italian's arrival.

Amid another flatlining display, the tearful departure of De Zerbi's leader on the field with Spurs 1-0 down with 25 minutes left and on the way to deserved defeat at Sunderland was yet another harrowing chapter in this sorry tale of the fall of a giant club.

The question of whether Spurs are too good to go down was consigned to the dustbin long ago. A team without a win in 14 Premier League games stretching back to 28 December at Crystal Palace answers that.

A more pertinent question now is - are Spurs too bad to stay up?

On the grim evidence that unfolded in the Wearside sunshine, it looks like they are.

Romero appeared to have a knee injury, although De Zerbi said "we have to see in the next few days", adding: "I hope that it is not too important a problem. He's a crucial player for us. He's a good guy and a good player with a big personality. We need him to finish the season."

Whatever the prognosis, former England goalkeeper Ben Foster questioned whether Romero's downcast manner as he left the pitch sent the right message to a Spurs team already a goal down after Nordi Mukiele's shot deflected past keeper Antonin Kinsky off Micky van de Ven on the hour.

It was a moment of misfortune, the sort that is often the fate of a team, and indeed a club, in crisis.

"Romero's probably the one player who has got a bit of character in that team, a bit of grit and determination," said Foster, a pundit on Sunday's Match of the Day. "If I was one of his team-mates there, I want him to be walking off the pitch grabbing everybody, getting everybody firing.

"They've still got 25 minutes there until full-time. But the tears, I feel, send the wrong message. As a captain you shouldn't be doing that."

The Telegraph's Luke Edwards believes Roberto de Zerbi will have to "oversee some turnaround" to keep Tottenham in the Premier League this season, adding that there are "huge problems" for the club to sort out.

Tottenham failed to end their run of 14 Premier League games without a win against Sunderland on Sunday afternoon, continuing their worst run in the league for 81 years and leaving themselves stuck in the bottom three.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily, Edwards said: "There is always hope because Nottingham Forest, West Ham and Leeds United haven't been truly convincing themselves all season. However, all of those clubs have a bit more upward momentum than Tottenham at the moment.

"It is some turnaround that Roberto de Zerbi has got to oversee. When he went to Brighton, he actually lost his first five games in charge. So as good a job as he did there, it actually took a while for him to get his ideas across.

"I was in his post-match press conference and I listened to him say: 'I can't be a coach, I've got to be a father and a brother - I've got to put my arm around these players' - but I'm not sure that is going to be enough.

"They can't keep clean sheets, they can't score goals, they are too easy to play through midfield - that is a pretty poisonous mix. There are huge problems.

"De Zerbi will be on a huge bonus to keep the club in the Premier League - and he will earn every single penny of it if he manages to do it from here.

"Having watched them, there is a stench of relegation around the club. I think they are doomed."

Spurs are in deep. Seriously deep. For all of the effort they made very, very few real chances in this game.

Now they are officially in the relegation zone, people are taking it seriously. It's been serious for much longer than that. It's been sitting staring at you.

We've seen teams in the past start to fall and they have faltered, they have started to lack belief. There was no lack of effort from the Spurs players at Sunderland, but was there a desperation about the desire? I'm not sure there was.

It's not like they didn't try today, but was that the desperation level that they need? I'm afraid not. Nothing feels easy. Nothing feels certain. I don't know where the points are coming from.

Match of the Day pundit Pat Nevin looks at how Tottenham's new head coach Roberto de Zerbi set up his side against Sunderland, and the issues that cost Spurs in their 1-0 defeat at the Stadium of Light.

Match Report: Premier League - Sunderland 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur