‘He has to turn losers into winners’published at 17:45 BST 31 March
17:45 BST 31 March
Phil McNulty
BBC Sport chief football writer
Image source, Getty Images
De Zerbi only has one priority after taking over at Tottenham Hotspur. He has to keep them in the Premier League.
The peril of Spurs’ current position was why the highly-regarded Italian was initially reluctant to take over so late in the season, with the club’s future still uncertain as they contemplate the real possibility of dropping into the Championship.
How would De Zerbi view his future if Spurs do not escape the drop? It would not be down to him, but he certainly does not regard himself as a coach who operates in the second tier.
Given Spurs’ status and ambitions, relegation is as unpalatable as it gets. First Division football at the magnificent Tottenham Hotspur Stadium would be nothing short of total humiliation.
De Zerbi’s firecracker personality, as well as an ability as a coach that has won him widespread admiration from peers such as Pep Guardiola, must inject life into a squad decimated by injuries and stripped of every vestige of confidence.
He has to turn losers into winners. Instantly.
And he has to start at Sunderland in Spurs’ next Premier League game.
De Zerbi is fiercely competitive and must transmit that into his players, easier said than done given the timid, defeatist nature of their performances this season.
He would have preferred to start afresh next season – and maybe somewhere else if Spurs are a Championship club – but he is confident, talented and brimming with self-belief.