Key Takeaways
- Roberto De Zerbi says staying at Tottenham next season depends on sharing the same vision with the club’s board, not on which division Spurs play in.
- Spurs are bottom-three with six matches left and remain the only Premier League side without a 2026 victory.
- The Italian has taken the squad for a team dinner as he hunts “characters” to lead a late survival push, starting against former club Brighton on Saturday night.
Tottenham head coach Roberto De Zerbi has warned that his job security rests on harmony with the club’s directors rather than the team’s final league position.
Speaking to Sky Sports ahead of Saturday’s televised clash with Brighton, the Italian said: “The league is not the issue. What matters is that every person at the club — board, staff, players — follows one plan.”
De Zerbi, who signed a five-year deal last month, had earlier vowed to “be Tottenham coach next season no matter what.” Yet, after a 1-0 defeat at Sunderland in his first match left Spurs two points adrift of safety, he refined that pledge, placing unity above survival.
“If we share the same ideas, I stay. If not, we can split,” he added.
Spurs have failed to win any of their 14 league games in 2026 and now face a relegation run-in that begins at home to the Seagulls, De Zerbi’s former employers. A victory would lift them out of the drop zone at least until Monday, yet the 45-year-old refuses to dwell on the table.
“We have no time to analyse every problem. We need points, confidence and togetherness,” he said.
To foster spirit, De Zerbi treated the squad to a mid-week meal. He admits he is still learning personalities inside a youthful dressing room stripped of experienced heads. Captain Cristian Romero is out for the campaign, while James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski and Ben Davies remain sidelined.
“We miss leaders on the pitch, so others must stand up,” De Zerbi explained. “I ask for players with personality. Micky van de Ven, Rodrigo Bentancur, João Palhinha can guide. I push Dominic Solanke to be stronger mentally. Xavi Simons is young but brave on the ball. We need more of that courage.”
With the third-youngest squad in the division, Tottenham will rely on untested names to drag them clear of trouble. De Zerbi believes the summer transfer window will reveal whether the board backs his rebuild, a factor he calls “more important than the division we play in.”
“I see this club returning to the top six if we stay up,” he insisted. “But first we must fight like one group, starting against Brighton.”
Kick-off at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is 5.30 p.m. live on Sky Sports.