Roberto de Zerbi has said he will be Tottenham head coach “no matter what” next season and backed the team to stay in the Premier League.
The 46-year-old signed a five-year contract to succeed Igor Tudor but his initial reluctance to take the job immediately — preferring to wait until the summer before changing his stance — has raised concerns De Zerbi could walk away if Tottenham are relegated.
They currently sit just one place and one point above the bottom three ahead of Sunday’s trip to Sunderland.
“I believe to keep [Spurs] in the Premier League, first of all,” he said on Friday. “It has to be clear for everyone. I want to work in the Premier League and I think I deserve to work in the Premier League.
“But the main sense of my work is more than the league.
“Anyway, if I sign my contract in April I have to be ready to stay no matter what in the next season. So I want to stay focused on Sunderland and the other six games again. But my idea is very clear.”
De Zerbi started work last week and explained why he was confident Spurs would avoid the drop:
“I’m sure about the level of the players because many players in the past I was very, very close to bringing them to my former teams,” De Zerbi, who had considered signing Conor Gallagher and Xavi Simons previously, said.
“They are working very well. I am not better than [ex-head coaches] Thomas Frank or Igor Tudor because I consider them very good coaches. I try to bring my style, myself, my character, my personality, my passion, first of all to show their qualities because they have a lot of qualities and then to achieve our target because the most important part now is our target.
“The fans have to be happy because all players are good guys, they are suffering this difficult situation. I want to see it in the game because during the week it is easier. But the voice inside of the pitch is changing. I observed them at the beginning of my time last week and now I am more positive for sure.”
– Tottenham’s Mohammed Kudus may need surgery after injury setback
– Are Tottenham going to be relegated from the Premier League? What stats, charts say
De Zerbi also revealed Guglielmo Vicario is unavailable to face Sunderland as he continues to recover from a hernia operation, meaning Antonín Kinsky will be in goal for the first time since he was substituted after just 17 minutes of Spurs’ 5-2 defeat at Atlético Madrid last month.
Mohammed Kudus is also out after suffering a setback in his recovery from a thigh injury. De Zerbi refused to confirm if the winger will need surgery or how long he will be out for but added:
“Kudus was in my head a crucial player, especially for the position but we have to look forward. “We have a lot of very good attackers but we have to help them and put them in the very best position.”
