Roberto De Zerbi needs to maximise the talent in the dressing room at Tottenham this season
Tottenham’s slow start to the new season has been a cause for concern for Roberto de Zerbi. We are already three matches into the new campaign, and the Lilywhites are yet to win a single league game this time around. Losses against Brentford and Newcastle United, followed by a hard-fought draw against Nottingham Forest, show that the new players are still finding their feet at N17 and trying to adapt to the Italian tactician’s playing style.
The North Londoners headed into this season with high expectations after undergoing a major squad overhaul in the summer. The club surpassed its own expectations by spending almost £400m on ten new players. Not only that, but the Lilywhites also made sure that every player brought in during the transfer window could make an instant impact at N17 and hit the ground running under De Zerbi.
But it is clear to see that there are still some areas on the pitch that need improvement as we slowly head towards the crucial stages of the campaign. Spurs failed to build on their Europa League success last season as Thomas Frank got the boot midway through the campaign. So, it is crucial that the North Londoners manage to go toe-to-toe with their rivals this time around and that De Zerbi helps the Lilywhites compete at the top end of the Premier League for the first time in three years.
Tottenham need to be aiming high under Roberto de Zerbi
Tottenham players are failing to get the basics right following a slow start to the new Premier League campaign. There is a clear lack of cohesion and understanding between the players on the pitch, forcing Roberto de Zerbi to scramble around and find his best starting eleven in recent weeks. As a result, it is important that the Italian tactician urges his players to find momentum and take each game as it comes, starting with the weekend clash against Everton at home in the Premier League.
Jack Pitt-Brooke has now set a realistic aim for the Lilywhites under Roberto de Zerbi this season. Speaking on talkSPORT, Pitt-Brooke said,
“I think given the fees and the salaries they’ve paid for players this summer, I think they have to get into Europe. I think it would be quite hard to sell this as being a good season if they come eighth, ninth, or tenth. That said, they’ve been so bad the last two years that I just think they just need to get back into the habit of winning games again.”
The Spurs correspondent added,
“For me, the most important thing is not even where they finish in the league table. It’s whether they can get back into the routine of winning games. And the quality of players they now have, and the quality of manager that they have, they need to be competing week in week out. If they do that, then I think they should be getting into Europe.”
Europe in sights for Tottenham?
For the amount of money that Tottenham have spent on new players this summer, the least that Roberto de Zerbi should achieve is a top-half finish in the Premier League. However, as Pitt-Brooke rightly mentions, there is enough quality in the squad to push for European football by the end of the current campaign. And De Zerbi has enough experience to get the best out of his players as the North Londoners try to go toe-to-toe with their opponents in the coming months.
But, for now, the Lilywhites should not look too far ahead and take each game as it comes. It is important that Spurs get back to winning ways in the Premier League after a dismal campaign last year. There is an urgent need for a feel-good factor around N17, and that will only come if the players start performing on the pitch and help the club compete at the top end of the Premier League table on a regular basis this time around.
