The former Brighton and Hove Albion and Marseille coach signed a long-term contract – reportedly to run for five years – with Spurs earlier this week after it parted company with Igor Tudor.

He arrives at to find a Spurs team at one of its lowest ebbs. It is 17th in the Premier League and just one point clear of the bottom three, ahead of facing Sunderland in De Zerbi's first game in charge on 12 April (AEST).

Eyebrows were raised at the nature of De Zerbi's contract, which reportedly makes him one of England's highest-paid head coaches, but provided the next seven games go to plan, he intends to be in north London for the foreseeable future.

"Hello Tottenham fans, I am very happy to be here with you," he said in a message posted to Spurs' social media channels.

"For me, it is a very big honour to be here and I'm very proud to be your coach. I want to give my best. I want to stay for a long time in this big club. See you soon."

"I signed a five-year contract because for me it is a big challenge," De Zerbi said in his first interview with the club's in-house YouTube channel.

"I will be the coach of Tottenham next season, no matter what."

The Italian acknowledged Spurs are enduring a "tough moment" but said the squad has the quality to overcome the struggles.

"We have to be focused on the Sunderland game. I don't want to talk about the schedule. Game by game we have to prepare the players to win," he said.

"After this part of the season, I think, we can become great in the future."

Spurs are still searching for a first Premier League win of 2026, having played out five draws and eight defeats since the turn of the year.

They are currently enduring the joint second-longest winless run in the club's league history (13 games), while their return of 30 points from 31 Premier League games represents their lowest tally after 31 matches of any league campaign, along with 1914-1915, accounting for 3pts/win all-time.