- Roberto De Zerbi prefers players to drive to the ground themselves
- Italian’s routine made coach welcome impossible to plan
- De Zerbi has now changed his mind ahead of crucial Everton clash
We can’t believe we’re writing this, but Tottenham Hotspur still stand a chance of getting relegated from the Premier League.
Roberto De Zerbi’s side need to better or match West Ham’s result to avoid relegation as they prepare to take on Everton.
Tottenham have fared quite well under the Italian, but last weekend’s damaging 2-1 defeat to Chelsea came as a massive sucker punch.
And now, it appears as if De Zerbi has made one crucial decision to get everyone associated with the club on the same boat as they edge closer to a potentially career-altering fixture against the Toffees.
Tottenham players to stay together before Everton clash
Under the Italian, the Tottenham players usually stay at their respective homes and drive to the ground themselves for home games.
The idea is that players can spend time with their families and arrive at the game as they deem fit.
However, it has effectively taken the fans’ coach welcome out of the equation, which could be massive to build up the atmosphere ahead of the important games.
And now, ahead of the game against Everton, De Zerbi has revealed that his entire Tottenham squad are staying together and will arrive at the ground as a unit.
“It was my decision because I thought to stay together the day before, to prepare for the meeting the day before, the morning of the game and to create the right atmosphere.
“If the fans show their love to the players, it is not pressure, it is an honour, it is a great thing for the players. It is a good thing, it is a positive thing for us.
“We have to be good, to start the game with energy, with spirit and after 10, 15 minutes, if we are playing well, the fans come inside the pitch.
“We have to be good to deserve their support, as we did against Brighton or part of the game against Leeds at home.”
De Zerbi urges Tottenham to keep the faith
Ahead of the game, it was mentioned to De Zerbi that Tottenham haven’t been relegated since 1977.
And if they fail to match or better West Ham’s result today, they will drop down to the Championship, which is quite simply a horrifying proposition.
But the Italian feels he has devoted his life to Tottenham since replacing Igor Tudor, as he tipped his players to bail them out of the hole they’ve dug for themselves.
“Listen, I’ve lived the last 50 days just for Tottenham and for my players. I burn, I burn nervously, and for me, nothing changes if we play a great game or not.
“I usually live football giving all of myself, I’m looking forward to playing tomorrow’s game and for me it’s tough to arrive but not the game because if you are good with yourself, if you think you have given everything you can, you have to stay calm and stay positive.
“In football you can win, you can lose but I usually think what I can give more for my players, what I have to give in these last two days to help my players to show all their qualities, what I can do to help them to play following their qualities but not for the game because I’m 47-years-old and I’m used to playing this type of games.”
