Roberto De Zerbi believes changing the mentality at Tottenham is his biggest challenge after Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher said their start to the season “couldn’t have gone any worse” following defeat to Newcastle.
Tottenham have lost their first two Premier League games without scoring a goal and sit at the bottom of the league despite spending £320m in the transfer market this summer.
De Zerbi’s side had been better than Newcastle until Anthony Elanga struck the opener midway through the second half, with Spurs unable to respond and conceding another when Yoane Wissa hooked in from close range.
Asked whether mentality was the biggest issue he faces, De Zebi said: “You are right, yes. It’s the biggest problem, it’s the biggest challenge, the biggest target is to find the right mentality.
“Unfortunately you can’t buy the mentality in the transfer market. Football is like magic: you can change many players in one window of the transfer market, and you can find the balance immediately, or you need more time. I would like to achieve this target quickly, as soon as possible, because it’s crucial to play football.
“But the plan, the project of the club, what we are doing to rebuild a new team with new players, is a great plan, is a great project, and I have no doubt about the result of this project.”
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De Zerbi reinforced his belief that this season would be different to Spurs’ previous two, which have seen them finish 17th in the past two seasons.
He said: “I’m disappointed with the result, and I’m sorry for the fans, for the environment, because after two defeats, maybe somebody can think it’s the same story, the same as the last two seasons. I have no doubt it’s not like this. I can’t change my opinion for two defeats.
“I have big, big confidence in the qualities of my players. At the end, when we become a team, when we improve the connection between the players, when we improve the quality of the play, when we improve the defensive space, this group, with me or with another coach, nothing changes, because they are two good players.
“I’m sorry for the club, because they are building a great squad, but maybe now we are not ready yet, for many, many reasons.”
‘Tottenham will go into market again’
Sky Sports’ Carragher said on co-commentary at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium that he reckons Spurs will sign another player after their poor start.
“Tottenham’s start to the season couldn’t have gone any worse,” he said. “But it’s going to take time at Tottenham. A lot of new players have come in; they’ve paid top dollar, but they’re quality players, certainly in the midfield area, like [Mateus] Fernandes and [Sandro] Tonali.
“We saw signs today in terms of [Jan Paul] Van Hecke on the ball, but it won’t be finished. I think there will be more to come.
“It’s natural that people will panic a little and Tottenham will go into the market again, there’s no doubt about it.
“Not just because they’ve lost twice, but it makes you more decisive. If you’ve won both games and a couple of games and some of the players looked alright, you’d look at a couple of deals and think ‘maybe we’re OK, maybe we give those players until Christmas.
“That certainly won’t be the case on the back of two really bad defeats.”
‘Spurs project will take time’
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Sky Sports’ Jamie Redknapp called for patience on Saturday Night Football.
“There’s a lot of new players at Spurs and it’s going to take time,” he said. “The manager has got a jigsaw puzzle and he’s got to figure out how to fit the players in, what system to use, who the best three players are in midfield.
“There are going to be teething problems. I also look at the senior players and players like [Micky] Van de Ven didn’t do enough to lead today and certainly with the goals.
“Players who have been there for a long time can do better.”
