Tottenham winless and goalless in three matches, De Zerbi already under pressure

Tottenham has failed to score a single goal in three Premier League matchdays, conceding five while accumulating just one point. A disastrous start that reignites questions about Roberto De Zerbi’s future, appointed manager in April with a five-year contract.

The Daily Mail already judges that the Italian’s spell on the Spurs bench will be “short-lived”. The newspaper notably cites De Zerbi’s behaviour after the 0-0 draw conceded at Nottingham, where he publicly attacked his players — specifically Omar Marmoush and Mathys Tel — as well as his medical staff. “Publicly criticizing players is always risky, but this is the type of manager Tottenham hired,” the daily acknowledges, noting that the former Marseille coach “is doing what he was asked to do”.

The Daily Mail paints an unsparing portrait of the 47-year-old tactician: “De Zerbi is ambitious, aggressive and impulsive. He says what he thinks, in private as in public, and that is also his management style when it comes to dealing with executives and sporting directors. Tottenham is his ninth club in 13 years of his career. It would be quite unusual for him to stay five years.”

The task is objectively complex, however. Tottenham finished two consecutive seasons in 17th place in the Premier League, and the summer transfer window — estimated at €366 million — cannot transform the squad in a few weeks. Former international Paul Merson tempers expectations: “The road is still long for the Spurs. The problem lies in mentality. You don’t finish two years in a row in 17th place and then expect to turn things around in the blink of an eye.”

Merson advises the club to lower its ambitions in the short term: “The Spurs shouldn’t worry about their eight-point deficit to Arsenal. They simply need to focus on fifth place. They won’t finish ahead of Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal this season.”

De Zerbi had managed to keep Tottenham up last season after a catastrophic first half of the campaign. But expectations are now higher, and the patience of both executives and supporters appears already to be tested.