Tottenham’s dire start leaves De Zerbi questioning players’ mentality

Tottenham’s miserable Premier League start worsened with a 3-2 defeat at Aston Villa, leaving them winless after five league matches and in the relegation zone. Roberto De Zerbi questioned his players’ mentality after another surrender from a promising position.

"It's difficult to explain because, in my career, 14 years as a coach, I've never seen one team like us," De Zerbi said. "So fragile, so inconsistent. It's tough to accept for me." He told talkSPORT.

"Listen, I'm a coach, but I do not have all the answers... for your question, I have no answer." "I can say what I think, what I've seen today and I saw my team in the first half play very well, we had chances to score. We didn't score and then we conceded the first goal... we have to stay closer and stay stronger, more compact."

"In the second half, after Kudus' goal, I don't know if the players lost energy... now we have to explain another defeat."

"Maybe the communication between the players [is the problem], maybe the leaders have to be stronger." "We need leaders to drive and lead the team. With Newcastle it was the same, in Liverpool it was the same, with Everton it was the same... we have to find the solutions."

The international break arrives at a crucial moment, giving De Zerbi a brief window to regroup and seek fixes. Spurs next travel to Old Trafford to face Manchester United, where further lapses could deepen their troubles.

Source: Goal.com

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”