Robertson urges Tottenham to shed last season's weight after rock-bottom Premier League start

Andy Robertson has urged Tottenham to stop carrying the burden of last season’s struggles and trust the process of a rebuild, after Spurs entered the international break rooted to the bottom of the Premier League with only two points from five games.

The Scotland captain, who joined on a free transfer following the expiry of his contract at Liverpool, acknowledged that the weight of recent disappointments is visibly affecting the squad — and that new arrivals like himself share responsibility for changing the mentality.

“They have had a couple of really tough seasons in terms of finishing in the league,” Robertson said on The Overlap’s Stick to Football podcast. “They have now, to be fair, had to go in the market, they have spent a bit of money, but I do believe Tottenham are now starting a journey.”

Despite head coach Roberto De Zerbi overseeing a £380 million summer overhaul that brought in 10 new players, the early results have done little to suggest the cycle of struggle near the foot of the table has been broken. Robertson pointed to specific moments in recent fixtures as evidence of a confidence problem rather than a quality one.

“You just see certain moments, like the Liverpool game — we played so well there in moments, and then you get a goal against you, and it is like heads down,” he said, referencing the 3-1 Carabao Cup defeat on 15 September. “And then we go back to 2-1, and all of a sudden it’s chests out, and everyone’s wanting the ball — and we need that all the time.”

He also cited the 0-0 draw with Everton on 12 September as a missed opportunity, saying Spurs dominated for long stretches before anxiety crept in. “We started getting panicked near the end and we started rushing things.”

Robertson was clear that the responsibility for resetting the mindset falls on the manager, but equally on the new signings themselves. “That kind of falls on me, on the new players — we need to forget. We need to now try and get Tottenham back to where we believe they belong.”

The 32-year-old, who won two Premier League titles and the 2019 Champions League final with Liverpool — a final played against Spurs in Madrid — revealed that Tottenham were always his preferred destination once his time at Anfield ended, on one condition. “It was always Tottenham, as long as they stayed up,” he said.

Despite the difficult opening, Robertson remained optimistic about the trajectory of the season. “I do think as the season goes and goes and goes, we will get better and better.”