De Zerbi warns Tottenham it's not too big to go down
Roberto De Zerbi has warned Tottenham Hotspur it is not too big to go down and must adopt a positive approach if it is to avoid relegation to the EFL Championship.
Spurs face De Zerbi's former club Brighton and Hove Albion on Friday (AEST), having dropped into the relegation zone last week while also losing 1-0 to at Sunderland in their first game under the Italian coach.
Tottenham is now winless in 14 Premier League matches, losing nine of those, the second-longest such run in its league history, and longest since the mid-1930s.
It is two points behind 17th-placed West Ham United and safety.
Asked if nerves were affecting Spurs' performances, De Zerbi said: "You can see it during the game. First of all, the players are all good guys, and they are suffering at this moment.
"They are not happy when we lose the game and they are not happy to see Tottenham at the bottom of the table, for sure, but we have to find the energy, we have to find the right spirit to be positive.
"During the week when they are with me, for sure, they will see a positive coach because I believe in their qualities.
"We are Tottenham, but we are not going to win the games just because we are Tottenham. You can't win the games on the paper.
"You have to win the games by showing quality on the pitch, by fighting on the pitch. But they are human, and they are suffering maybe too much and altogether we have to stay close, to be positive."
De Zerbi's former club Brighton is flying high, by contrast, with last weekend's 2-0 win at Burnley boosting its European hopes.
The Seagulls sit ninth on the table ahead of their trip to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and defender Olivier Boscagli said they are not interested in doing their former head coach any favours.
"It's a nice game for him because he knows the club really well and he has a really good image at this club. I can see he did a lot of good things here, but now he is at another club," Boscagli said.
"Of course, he will be happy to see some faces and some of the players will be happy to see him, but at the first whistle there will be no friends on the pitch.
"The only thing we want is to win the game and it doesn't matter with who or against who."
