Tottenham Hotspur are in the relegation battle in the Premier League and need a miraculous boost to avoid playing in the Championship next season.
The north London side have won just seven out of their 32 Premier League games this season, with none of them coming in their last 14 attempts. Now, they must find three wins, if not more, in their remaining six games. Even then, their future is dependent on their rivals dropping points.
While West Ham are two points above Spurs, Nottingham Forest are three above. The latter have also reached the Europa League semi-finals, gaining a mental boost, albeit at the cost of added fixtures.
De Zerbi takes Tottenham players out for an expensive meal
Many fans and pundits have pointed out that Tottenham have some good players. However, they are highly underconfident and deflated after a spell under Thomas Frank and Igor Tudor. They need the right tactics, but also the confidence and bonding to execute them.
In the hope of building that team spirit, De Zerbi took the Tottenham players and staff out for a lavish dinner on Wednesday. The Telegraph report that they went to the Bacchanalia restaurant in Mayfair, which has sculptures by Damien Hirst as part of its decor. The main course at the restaurant can cost between £40 and £130.
Also Read: Cristian Romero reveals what Roberto De Zerbi has immediately changed at Tottenham
As per the outlet, the Italian wanted to “bring the players closer together” and help ease their minds during this tense period for the club.
After the Sunderland defeat, he had also stressed that he must instill confidence in these players. He said on the BBC Match of the Day:
“I can be a big brother, father; they don’t need a coach. They don’t need to improve football. They can play better, and they will play better once we reach a different level of confidence.”
Notably, interim manager Igor Tudor had also taken the Tottenham players out for dinner. However, it didn’t have a big impact as they failed to win any of their five Premier League games under him.
The big contrast for Tottenham from last season
While Spurs finished 17th in the Premier League last season, they were never in any danger of relegation. In fact, at this point last season, they were moving well into the latter stages of the Europa League. They focused on it and ended up winning the tournament to break their trophy drought.
Under Ange Postecoglou’s management and Son Heung-min’s captaincy, the morale and team spirit were at an all-time high at Spurs. So much so that just before the final, Cristian Romero, Rodrigo Bentancur, and Richarlison also organized a barbecue for the team. It happened just near the training ground with the entire squad and staff members present.
However, it now appears that the same squad is struggling for confidence and even unity. The aforementioned Telegraph report claims that De Zerbi even wants them to talk more with each other.
Tottenham’s board managed to mentally shock these players by sacking Postecoglou, and they are now paying the price for every poor decision since.
