Football London

The Tottenham Hotspur head coach takes his team across the capital for a crunch game against Chelsea on Tuesday evening

Anywhere but Stamford Bridge would be Tottenham's preferred destination for the final away day of their relegation battle but Roberto De Zerbi must put history aside to help save the north London club.

Ask any Spurs fan where their team just cannot win in the Premier League and the answer would either be Stamford Bridge or the Emirates. Take Tottenham out of the capital and no venue brings fear but mention Chelsea's stadium and the word 'hoodoo' follows swiftly behind.

For the Lilywhites have won just one solitary game in the Premier League era at that West London ground. It came in 2018 during the peak Mauricio Pochettino years, with Dele Alli scoring twice after Christian Eriksen's stunner from 25 yards had cancelled out Alvaro Morata's headed opener.

That victory represented the first time in more than 28 years that Tottenham had gone across the capital in the league and beaten Chelsea on their own turf. It has not been repeated since, with 21 defeats and 11 draws in all for Tottenham at that venue in the Premier League era around that sole triumph.

The Spurs team that day boasted the likes of Vertonghen, Trippier, Dembele, Son, Dele, Eriksen and Harry Kane even came off the bench. What De Zerbi would do to have the England captain on hand for this current iteration of Tottenham Hotspur.

But this is a very different Spurs, one that has lost its way and is left hoping that the Italian, as its fourth head coach in the past year, can get them punching again before they hit the canvas.

The early signs have been promising. They are unbeaten in four games with two wins and two draws, and those two stalemates at home against Brighton and Leeds would have been victories but for individual errors late on from Kevin Danso and Mathys Tel.

Even De Zerbi's opening narrow defeat at Sunderland could have gone either way and the Premier League's Key Match Incidents panel later admitted that Brian Brobbey should have been sent off for shoving Spurs skipper Cristian Romero into goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky, putting the Argentine out for the rest of the season with a knee injury.

Romero has cancelled plans to recuperate back home in South America so he can stay around the team for the fight ahead. He could be seen on Monday night racing out of the dugout to tackle set piece coach Andreas Georgson amid the celebration of Tel's goal.

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De Zerbi's biggest problem is the lack of attacking options at his disposal. He could have Dominic Solanke back in the frame for Tuesday night but remains without Xavi Simons, Mohammed Kudus, Wilson Odobert and Dejan Kulusevski. The Swede's one year anniversary of his knee injury at Selhurst Park was marked by the news that he had been left out of Graham Potter's World Cup squad after repeated setbacks meant he is yet to play a single minute of football this season.

Tottenham at least have James Maddison back in the fold. The England international played 20 minutes against Leeds on Monday night after nine months out with a cruciate ligament injury. De Zerbi will be hoping his midfield magician rediscovers his sharpness just when the north London club needs it the most.

Maddison has recorded five goal involvements in 13 games against Chelsea in the Premier League so he knows how to hurt the Blues, but he has a lot of cobwebs to shake off.

Spurs will be hoping for help from elsewhere. West Ham travel first to Newcastle late on Sunday afternoon and De Zerbi will be praying that Eddie Howe's men sign off at St James' Park in a positive fashion after their own stuttering season.

Then Tuesday brings the trip to Stamford Bridge. Tottenham will have had eight days to prepare while Chelsea come in three days after the cup final.

It is almost exactly a decade since the 'Battle of the Bridge', when Spurs' title hopes ended amid a flurry of yellow cards and melees. Present day Tottenham are fighting for something very different and they need to find a way to consign history to where it belongs - the rearview mirror.

Tottenham Hotspur could inadvertently help Arsenal sign a Premier League player valued at as much as £63million who has impressed the Gunners' recruitment team

Arsenal stand to benefit from Tottenham Hotspur staying in the Premier League at West Ham United's expense should they attempt to sign Mateus Fernandes this summer.

football.london understands the Gunners are interested in Fernandes, who has impressed their recruitment team over recent seasons. The Portugal international joined Southampton from Sporting two years ago after barely getting a game in Lisbon, but soon became a regular in the Premier League.

An impressive debut season ended in relegation with the Saints and then West Ham signed him for around £40millon last summer. Despite being involved in another relegation battle this term, Fernandes continues to impress.

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West Ham dropping down to the second tier could lead to the midfielder bouncing back up even higher this time around, with Arsenal in the market for a midfielder. The Times reports that West Ham would have to sell Fernandes to comply with the Championship's financial framework.

The division's clubs have voted through new Squad Cost Rules (SCR). As a result, they will have to cap their spending to 85% of their income.

Owners are only allowed to inject an additional £15million across any one season. West Ham's revenue would decline significantly after any relegation, which could happen before the final day of the season.

The Hammers are two points adrift of safety with as many games to play. They visit Newcastle United today before hosting Leeds United next Sunday.

West Ham would already be down when the Whites travel to the London Stadium, though, if they do not win this weekend. Failing to beat Leeds would give Spurs a chance to secure safety by beating Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.

However, if Roberto De Zerbi's side do not earn all three points, it will go down to the final day, when they host Everton. West Ham can no longer catch Nottingham Forest, so only Spurs can save them.

As for Arsenal, their focus is understandably on the top of the table. However, what happens at the opposite end could take on greater importance this summer.

Fernandes signed a five-year contract with West Ham last summer, so he still has four seasons remaining on it. There reportedly is no standard release clause in the deal for a player whom the CIES Football Observatory values at up to £63million.

However, there are conflicting reports about such an option becoming active if they are a Championship club next season. Bypassing negotiations with West Ham would be ideal for the Gunners, especially given how their previous talks over signing Declan Rice cost them over £100million.

It has been confirmed that the talented Tottenham teenager will get his first senior international call-up for two games this month

Mason Melia is set to get his first call-up to the Republic of Ireland senior squad even though the 18-year-old is yet to make his Tottenham debut.

Melia arrived at Spurs in January after the north London club had agreed a deal with St Patrick's Athletic to bring him over once he turned 18, with the transfer worth an initial £1.6million - a record figure for the League of Ireland - with the potential for future add-ons to double it.

Tottenham handed the youngster a long contract until 2031 as they fended off various other top Premier League and European clubs to sign one of the brightest young talents in Irish football.

The Republic of Ireland U21 international arrived with 98 senior games with St Pat's under his belt along with with 25 goals and eight assists. However, he also arrived with a back problem and later a chest infection, delaying his debut for Spurs' U21s until last month.

Melia has scored goals for them and stepped up to train on occasions with Roberto De Zerbi's first team but has not yet made a matchday squad in the Premier League. However, he will now make his first steps into the Irish senior squad and work alongside former Spurs striker Troy Parrott, who has become a star for club and country with his exploits at AZ Alkmaar.

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Ireland boss Heimir Hallgrimsson has confirmed he will name Melia in his squad for the next two friendlies at home to Qatar on May 28 and away to Canada on June 5.

"Mason is in the next camp,” said Hallgrimsson in Spain on Friday ahead of a fringe squad friendly game against Grenada on Saturday. "I have to be honest, I haven't seen him play for Tottenham's U21s in their last games, but our U21s manager Jim Crawford has.

"Obviously I saw him last season in Europe for St Pat’s and he played really well there. He has the qualities that we are looking for in a sense of his running behind, he’s a hard working kid, he will fight for every scrap. All of those things he has we saw last year in the League of Ireland and Europe.

"Hopefully he will get a run of club games and start pre-season well, hopefully at Tottenham and hopefully they will still be in the Premier League."

Tottenham are battling to secure their Premier League survival and would face strict new Championship spending rules if relegated, after EFL clubs voted through a big change

Tottenham Hotspur would face complying with new rules should they suffer relegation from the Premier League to the Sky Bet Championship. Second-tier clubs have today approved significant amendments to the league's financial regulations, with backing from 20 of the division's 24 sides.

Clubs have endorsed proposals to replace the existing profitability and sustainability (P&S) framework with a squad cost ratio model (SCR) from next season. The revised regulations will bring the division into closer alignment with the Premier League's new rules and restrict expenditure on football costs to 85 per cent of total revenue.

SCR expenses are directly linked to the first team, encompassing player wages, manager salaries, agent fees, and the annual amortisation of player transfer fees. They are combined into a single budget pool that reflects the actual cost of the squad.

Should Championship clubs fail to adhere to the regulations, then a non-negotiable sporting sanction is imposed in the season that a breach occurs. Breaching limits triggers an automatic six-point deduction.

The point deduction escalates according to the severity of the breach. For every £6.5 million spent above the threshold, an additional one-point penalty is applied.

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In a statement, the EFL said: "Championship Clubs have approved a new Squad Cost Rules (SCR) financial framework that will replace the current Profitability and Sustainability (P&S) rules from Season 2026/27.

"During the course of the 2025/26 season, Championship Clubs have been operating an SCR system in shadow, alongside the P&S Rules, to allow Clubs to assess the proposed rule changes and provide the League with further information to enable wider consultation with stakeholders.

"The SCR system limits Clubs spending on Player and Manager-related costs (including transfer fees) to a set percentage of their income, alongside a limited level of owner funding.

"From the 2026/27 season the SCR allowance for Clubs will be set at 85% of income, with a flexible equity top-up allowance of £33m over a three-year period (up to a maximum of £15m a season).

"The new framework allows for real-time monitoring during the season, rather than reviewing ‘after the event’, with the aim of giving Clubs greater clarity and the Club Financial Reporting Unit earlier visibility over Clubs’ financial position. The framework also includes safeguards around commercial deals linked to Owners or associated parties."

The changes are intended to create a simpler and more responsive system of cost control within the Championship.

A version of the SCR framework is also to be introduced in the Premier League for the 2026/27 season, bringing closer alignment between the divisions.

Spurs return to Premier League action next week with their top-flight status still hanging in the balance. They currently sit two points clear of the relegation zone, having amassed just 38 points from 36 fixtures this season, not securing a league victory in 2026 until April 25.

Monday's 1-1 draw with Leeds United saw Tottenham squander the opportunity to extend their advantage over bottom-placed West Ham United. The Hammers suffered a 1-0 defeat to Arsenal on Sunday and at one point during the Spurs versus Leeds encounter, trailed by five points with two matches left to play.

However, that margin has now narrowed to two, with the Hammers facing Newcastle United on Sunday afternoon before Spurs take on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday evening.

When questioned about his predominant emotion while watching his former club fight against relegation, ex-Spurs chairman Daniel Levy confessed on Thursday: "Emptiness...I'm feeling the pain but I'm optimistic that we'll get through it.

"It's been very, very difficult - Spurs is in my blood. I could never have envisioned this at the beginning of the season. Obviously incredibly disappointed. Let's look forward and very much hope that next season we're still in the Premier League."

He added: "I'm optimistic that we will remain in the Premier League. I think Tottenham has a great coach, and all the fans and all the employees and everyone now are behind this coach.

"Let's hope that the players can do it for the last two games. Like every fan there'd be emptiness in the stomach. But, we will bounce back.

"Let's be optimistic and hope that doesn't happen. I just hope at this moment in time that Tottenham manages to remain in the Premier League."

The north London club have made a subtle little tweak to the huge stadium in a place which only really affects the players

Spurs have made a recent tweak to the players' tunnel at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to change things up a bit amid the club's home troubles.

The north London outfit have not won a Premier League game at their home stadium since December 6 when they overcame Brentford 2-0. Since then Tottenham have been unable to add to the win column despite a couple of victories there in the Champions League.

Even with the improvement under Roberto De Zerbi, with the team unbeaten in four under the Italian, they have not been able to hold on to leads to win in N17 in the league games against Brighton and Leeds.

Eagle-eyed fans might have noticed a slight change to an area of the ground in-between those home games after changes were made to the tunnel at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where the Spurs players walk out after turning right from the dressing room.

Now above the tunnel, the beam sitting above it has been painted gold with the words 'All Together Always', the motto captain Cristian Romero has always used when posting on social media about the club. Also printed on the walls of the tunnel as the Tottenham players walk out now are images of the fans with the players celebrating in front of them, with that 'All Together Always' again written in white on both sides in big letters.

The motto was also emblazoned across the electronic hoardings in between tiers around the stadium in the build-up to Monday night's kick-off.

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The new scenery could be seen in the club's pre-match video on social media of James Maddison giving the players a little pep talk before they went out to warm up ahead of the Leeds match. It coincided with the fans creating a huge Tifo in the big south stand that read 'Together Always'.

The match against Daniel Farke's side also featured machines launching flames into the air before kick-off, as seen at other stadiums across the Premier League, as Tottenham tried to create a different atmosphere.

Spurs have just the one home game remaining on the final day of the season next Sunday when they welcome Everton. Before that De Zerbi takes his side to Chelsea on Tuesday night looking to pick up only the club's second victory in the Premier League era at the West London stadium.

The Tottenham teenager has been speaking about what comes next for him when his loan at Rangers comes to an end this weekend

Mikey Moore admits that his Tottenham future lies in the hands of Roberto De Zerbi as his big season on loan at Rangers reaches its conclusion.

The 18-year-old has developed in leaps and bounds this season at the Glasgow giants, hitting the back of the net on the big stage in two different Old Firm Derbies among his 10 goal involvements across 46 games for Rangers as he has become a popular figure among the fanbase.

Moore overcame a difficult start during Russell Martin's brief and problematic tenure before flourishing under Danny Rohl. Unfortunately Rangers could not keep up their momentum and fell from the Scottish Premiership title race in recent weeks, leaving Celtic and Hearts to battle it out for the prize on the final day.

Moore will travel with Rangers to Falkirk on Saturday afternoon to sign off his loan season north of the border and at a press conference on Friday he admitted he does know yet what comes next for him at Spurs.

"For me now, it's hard because it's the same as for me last year. A new manager [ Thomas Frank ] was in at Tottenham and I had to go back in and see what he was saying about me and then see what everyone was doing. To be honest, I think it will be the same sort of process," he said, as reported by Rangers Review.

"There's a new manager at Spurs at the minute and obviously I'm a Spurs player, so we'll have to see what he says about me, what he wants me to do, what the people around me want me to do. I think that's all I can say at the moment. I'm going to go back there and see what the new people say in the building and from there I'll make a decision."

Moore has loved his experience at Rangers and believes it's changed him on a personal level as well as engendering a huge affection for the club.

"No matter what happens now, this club's been a huge part of what I'm going to become and it's helped me so much. So, for me, no matter what happens, I'm a fan of this club for the rest of my life now. So, it's been a special experience," he said.

"I think, mentally, I've just changed so much as a person. The way I look at stuff now, I think I've realised that every day means something. So, before, maybe I'd have days where I was a bit switched off and I'd come into training and I'm kind of not on it as much as I need to be.

"But if you want to go and win every single game, that's the way we need to be. I think, as a team, we need to learn that as well. So, we need to realise that every day means something and it's a chance to improve. So, for me, that's been the biggest learning point for me."

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On Scottish football getting a bad rap down south, he added: "I'll tell [people] how tough it is and how mentally I've been challenged every day. I don't think people realise how tough a place it is and I'll definitely be telling people what a good place it is to live and play."

It was put to the teenager that the Rangers fans have never questioned his mentality and that pleased him.

"Yes, 100 per cent. I think that's what you need. You need people to think of you, that you're going out there and giving your all," he said. "I've had many days this year where I've not been good enough and I've not showed enough, but I think I've shown that I'm still trying and I'm trying to give my all.

"So, it's nice to have that respect. Obviously, the gutting thing is that we don't have that as a team to really make your mark. I think people remember winning titles, not just individuals. So, that's the disappointing thing for me."

Moore had plenty to say on Rangers during his press conference and did not hold back when asked why the club ultimately failed to deliver this season.

"For me, there's no digging out players. Personally, I think as a squad, there needs to be a lot more driving each other to be better. There are top people in the group, but we need to have each other's back and when it gets tough, I don't think we've done that enough," he said.

"I think in tough moments this year, we haven't had each other's back and we haven't got together as a team and really said ‘right, we're going to stick together, we're going to get through it.’ We need to just grab the game and when it's tough, a few more, we need to have big personalities and go for the game.

"I can't put it down to much for other people. I don't think boys have gone out of their way to not do it. I just think as a team, we need to help each other more. When it's getting tough, we need to get behind each other and not get on each other's back. I think it's a collective.

"To have a winning culture, you need to have those standards. It's hard to put it down to one thing. For me, when it's got tough, we just need to stick together more. I think that's the main thing for us. When we're probably doing well in a game, everyone's probably full of confidence, but when it gets tough, then we need to show real personality."

Tottenham are keen to bolster Roberto De Zerbi's squad once they secure Premier League survival

Bournemouth have finally confirmed defender Marcos Senesi will leave the club on a free transfer this summer.

The Argentine international is rapidly approaching the end of his contract and has publicly confirmed he will not extend his stay at the Vitality Stadium.

The call is perhaps the worst-kept secret in the Premier League because a cluster of top English clubs are already vying for his signature.

Tottenham are leading the charge but first, they must secure safety in order to proceed with a transfer.

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Any deal ultimately depends on what division they will be playing their football in next season as Senesi is not a viable target if they are relegated.

Liverpool have also been sniffing around while Manchester United and Chelsea have shown varying degrees of interest.

Clubs from Italy have also looked at Senesi, who joined the Cherries from Feyenoord back in August 2022.

He was largely a key figure on the South Coast, though he lost his place in Andoni Iraola's starting XI last season to Dean Huijsen and Illia Zabarnyi.

Both players have since moved to Real Madrid and PSG, enabling Senesi to showcase his importance and experience again.

He told Bournemouth's website after confirming his imminent departure ahead of the club's final home game of the season against Manchester City: “From the first day I arrived, I felt at home at this club.

"I’m proud of everything we achieved over the last four years and I’m grateful for the support the fans have always given me.

“AFC Bournemouth will always hold a special place for me and I will look back at my time here with fond memories. For now, there are still two big games left of the season and I’m looking forward to seeing what we can achieve together.”

Spurs are also keen to sign Andy Robertson on a free transfer and will look to pursue that deal if they beat the drop.

Robertson came close to joining the Europa League winners for a small fee in January but Liverpool were reluctant to weaken their squad and Kostas Tsimikas was not able to return from his loan with AS Roma.

Media in Argentina have provided the latest news on the Tottenham skipper as he continues his rehabilitation from his knee injury

The Argentina national team have flown a staff member over to help Tottenham captain Cristian Romero accelerate his return from his knee ligament injury ahead of the World Cup after the defender decided to stay with his team-mates in north London.

The 28-year-old was injured after being pushed into Spurs goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky by Sunderland striker Brian Brobbey just over a month ago at the Stadium of Light in Roberto De Zerbi's first game in charge. Romero has remained around the squad and could be seen on Monday night delightedly racing from his dugout season and tackling set piece coach Andreas Georgson after Mathys Tel's goal against Leeds United.

Argentinian media outlet Dario Cronica reported on Thursday that Romero, now out of his knee brace, made the decision to remain in England with the team as they fight relegation rather than travel back to his homeland, which has meant the Argentina FA have sent out a member of staff to London to aid his recovery ahead of this summer's World Cup in which he will once again be a crucial player for Lionel Scaloni.

The outlet reports that initially, Romero's plan was to travel to Buenos Aires, to the Lionel Messi Training Centre in Ezeiza, to complete his rehabilitation, but his desire to be around his Tottenham team-mates during their relegation fight meant that the Argentine medical team instead sent kinesiologist Luis Garcia to the English capital to complete the World Cup winner's rehabilitation process.

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Romero included an image of himself working with Garcia in his latest Instagram post and the recovery timescale from his injury was estimated by the publication to take between six and seven weeks. That would make a Spurs return unlikely with just nine days remaining of the season and the crunch games against Chelsea and Everton.

It would allow Romero though to be back in time for Argentina's friendlies against Honduras on June 6 and Iceland on June 9 ahead of his country's World Cup opening game against Algeria on June 16 in Kansas.

Luka Vuskovic is set to return to Tottenham Hotspur following the conclusion of his loan spell with Hamburger SV

Tottenham youngster Luka Vuskovic is WhoScored's highest-rated centre-back in Europe's top-five domestic leagues this season.

It's quite the achievement for the Croatian, who has helped Hamburger SV preserve their Bundesliga status following an excellent loan.

Vuskovic has scored six goals, including a penalty and a free-kick, to keep HSV afloat while also bolstering his transfer value.

No centre-back, including Arsenal's Gabriel Magalhaes (7.29), has earned a higher average rating than Vuskovic (7.32) this term.

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The 19-year-old even missed several weeks of the campaign with a knee injury and is still the club's joint top goalscorer alongside Arsenal loanee Fabio Vieira.

Director of football Claus Costa has paid tribute to the defender, explaining: "Luka is an exceptional player, but also an exceptional personality. At 18, he exemplified things in the dressing room that you would normally expect from a 28-year-old.

"Added to that was the connection and the history surrounding the Vuskovic name and family. Everyone was looking forward to him. Only Mario [his brother] can fulfil that emotional expectation, no one else."

In a matter of weeks, Tottenham could be facing a big decision over Vuskovic's future, once they know what division they'll be playing their football in next season.

Vuskovic is also admired by some of Europe's top clubs, including Barcelona, who have him on their transfer shortlist.

His agent Pini Zahavi has also been in discussions with Barca over the future of Robert Lewandowski so it's highly likely conversations could be taking place behind the scenes.

For now, Spurs need to make sure they are in the Premier League next season and if they win their remaining two matches, they will secure safety and relegate West Ham.

Speaking after scoring in the recent 3-2 win over Freiburg, Vuskovic made it clear he was "99 per cent sure" he would be departing HSV.

He said: “To a 99.9 percent certainty, it was my farewell party. It’s a special moment. I’m very happy that I could help this team. And I’m very happy that I was allowed to be part of this club."

His Spurs contract runs until the summer of 2030, so the Lilywhites remain in total control of the player's future.

The Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper has been in top form for Roberto De Zerbi just weeks after his career at the club looked to be in doubt

Antonin Kinsky believes the way his parents raised him prepared him for turning around his Tottenham career in the past month.

The 23-year-old goalkeeper found himself mocked after a nightmare Champions League evening in Madrid in March as Atletico raced into a 3-0 lead, helped by two miss-kicks from the young Czech goalkeeper. To compound his embarrassment, Kinsky was hauled off by then interim Spurs boss Igor Tudor just 17 minutes into the match in Spain.

Rather than being the moment when his Tottenham career fell apart, it instead ended up being the catalyst for Kinsky to hit new heights when he returned to goal last month after Guglielmo Vicario needed hernia surgery. He looked back on that night and explained that he analysed it thoroughly in order to understand it.

"Confused is the right word to describe my emotions, and I was angry with myself, as I would be if I didn’t do something well, or the way that I should be doing it, but I did everything as I normally would. After the game, I was asking for clips of everything from warm-ups to all of my actions during those first 17 minutes because I wanted to work out what was behind it, and if I did anything out of the ordinary. I wanted to find a conclusion," he said in an interview with Spurs' matchday programme from their game against Leeds.

"You can have a feeling, but sometimes it is also good to watch everything back, or ask someone that you trust to see if they share the same opinion as you, as a learning point. That gave me the confidence and the calmness not to change too many things and just to keep going and get ready for my next moment.

"I was sad about what happened, but on the other hand, I was calm because I have good people around me who always give me great feedback. They really think about it and are honest with me. I listened to them, and then compared their feelings to mine, and they were similar. At that point for me, it was just about keeping going and making sure that when the next opportunity came, I would be ready again, just as I was before that game."

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Kinsky has since pulled off top drawer saves against Wolves and Leeds in recent weekends to save Spurs from defeats, including eye-catching stops from Joe Rodon and late on Sean Longstaff on Monday night. He has drawn praise from all corners, especially from new head coach Roberto De Zerbi, and he puts it down to the lessons learned as a child.

"I know myself, I know the way that my parents raised me, it doesn’t matter how difficult the moment is in life, that's the challenge, to deal with it, and it’s a nice feeling when you do that. While what happened was something that I didn’t wish for, these things happen, and it wasn't my first bad moment," he explained.

"Until the moment that I got here, when I was playing in the different divisions in Czechia, there have been moments like this. The only difference is that more people see it here. I’m not too worried about how those people feel about me. I care about how I feel about myself. I think this is why it hasn't affected me too much.

"I think for me, coming back in goal, even after something like that happens, I get confidence from the work that I put in if I know that I do the maximum every day I can. If there is a game that I’m not playing in, in the morning I do some warm-ups, and after the game I go on to the pitch because I have a lot of energy. For me, it’s another day to use wisely and get the most out of."

Kinsky can often be seen doing extra work after matches at home and away and those around Hotspur Way speak about him being a classic "first in, last out" character when it comes to training. The stopper has benefited from a close relationship with the goalkeeping coaching staff including Fabian Otte and Dean Brill.

"I would say we are really, really close. I’ve been at some clubs and haven't had this connection with my coaches. Not everyone is open to going out and working after a game, especially one that you lose or draw, as they are on their feet the whole day, leading the warm-up and everything," he said.

"After a game, they still go out with me, and they do these 30-40 minute sessions of just kicking. I am really appreciative that they have the energy to do this extra work and am grateful to have this kind of support behind me and helping me do my best every day, because it's part of it."

With all that work on his kicking, a key component of what De Zerbi asks of his goalkeepers, Kinsky believes it will pay dividends.

"I think at these moments, that's the difference. For example, if I have the ball at my feet, I could get an assist or start a good attack. Because of the hours of training, this could be the time when it works perfectly," he said.

"These details are exactly the decisive thing at this level. This is, for me, the reason behind why I do it, as well as for preparation for situations like these when I go out on the pitch in front of the fans in an important phase of the season after not playing the whole season."

Kinsky has been impressed by De Zerbi in the early weeks of the campaign and said the Italian has reminded the squad what they are capable of.

"I think it has gone very well. From the way he speaks and from what you read about him, you can tell that he believes in us. That is the big message that he gives us overall. He reminds us of the quality that we have in the squad, and that instead of speaking about it, we need to show it. This, of course, has helped, and I believe that it is going to work. Our performances are starting to show that," said the keeper."

"Where it all starts is in the head. If you don’t believe it, you can’t achieve it. I hope and believe this is the right way. We all feel that we have the quality to get out of this situation. Now it’s about proving that feeling on the pitch."