Tottenham stayed rooted in the relegation zone following a 1-0 away defeat to Sunderland.
Tottenham Hotspur’s relegation prospects deepened following their 1-0 defeat to Sunderland in new head coach Roberto De Zerbi’s first game in charge.
De Zerbi had almost 10 days to work with the new squad he inherited from Igor Tudor, who was shown the door during the March international break. Yet, the Lilywhites struggled massively to create chances and looked unconvincing at the back, leaving them in the dreaded drop zone with just games to spare.
While a deflected Nordi Mukiele strike condemned Tottenham to their 16th Premier League defeat of the season, De Zerbi remained calm in his post-match press conference and insisted his belief in the boys to accomplish their mission of staying in the top flight. The Italian claimed that there were positives to take from the away defeat to the Black Cats.
Mick McCarthy makes an interesting claim about Tottenham’s survival hopes
Sunday’s loss left Spurs 18th in the Premier League table and two points from safety, extending their winless run to 14 matches. Staggeringly, Tottenham are yet to taste a league win in 2026. That sequence of five draws and nine losses is now the club’s second-longest run without a league victory, behind a 16-game streak from 1934-35.
Despite the odds heavily stacked against the North Londoners, Manchester United great Roy Keane is still hopeful that De Zerbi will guide the club to safety. Former Premier League boss Mick McCarthy has now made an interesting claim on Tottenham’s quest for survival. He feels the defeat at Sunderland and the drop into the relegation zone could actually be the best thing to happen to Spurs ahead of the remaining six fixtures.
“You’re fourth bottom and forever all you’re doing, well, not all, but your concern is the one behind you, because only one can catch you,” Mick McCarthy said on The Managers podcast.
“Suddenly, you go to third-bottom, and it creates more of a desire. You think, hold on a minute, we’re in relegation here; yeah, we can catch them.’
“It’s a bonkers mentality that suddenly gives you a more positive outlook being in the bottom three, because you’re just looking upwards and trying to overtake the ones above you.
“It really is an unbelievable difference in mentality that, unless you’ve been there, I know you’ve been there, I’ve been there, you can’t express it.”
The Tottenham squad is at their lowest ebb
After lifting the Europa League title last May, the current campaign was expected to be one of further progression for Tottenham. Instead, they find themselves embroiled in a relegation battle, having not won a league game since beating Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on December 28.
There are no immediate signs of improvement on the pitch, with the players looking beaten and shattered. De Zerbi is tasked with getting the maximum output from the players, but his hands are tied behind his back owing to the current state of the squad. That said, our fans will certainly not agree with McCarthy’s claim that the club is in the best position in the bottom three of the table ahead of the final six games.