Roberto De Zerbi believes his Tottenham players are gripped by the fear of relegation and is concerned his tearful captain Cristian Romero could miss the crucial battles ahead. Tottenham extended their winless Premier League streak to 14 matches as the Italian's first outing in the dugout yielded only a disappointing 1-0 loss at Sunderland on Sunday afternoon.
Spurs sit 18th in the standings and two points from safety with time rapidly running out on a dismal campaign and just six fixtures remaining for De Zerbi, the north London outfit's fourth head coach in merely nine months, to engineer a turnaround. The former Brighton manager acknowledges that the dread of relegation itself has become the obstacle within his tentative squad, though he remains convinced they will ultimately rescue the club.
"I think so," he said with a nod. "But if you ask me, I am 46 years old, I have much more experience than the players, and I am positive absolutely because I know them as guys and as players."
He added: "They are suffering for this moment. They are not happy when we lose the game or not happy to see Tottenham at the bottom of the table. But we have to find the energy, the right spirit to be positive. They will see a positive coach because I believe in their qualities.
"We have not [got the right] to win the game just because we are Tottenham. You can't win the game on paper. You have to win showing the quality on the pitch, fighting on the pitch."
De Zerbi may face the run-in without Romero, however, after the Argentina international limped off the pitch in tears with a knee injury. The centre-back had been shoved into goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky by Sunderland forward Brian Brobbey at the Stadium of Light.
"We don't know yet. We have to see in the next days. I hope for us it's not an important problem because he's a crucial player for us," he said. "A good guy, top player, big personality and we need him to finish the season and to achieve our goal."