De Zerbi: Spurs must attack to survive relegation threat

New Tottenham Hotspur manager Roberto De Zerbi has challenged his side to rediscover their attacking identity as they battle to avoid relegation ahead of his first game in charge against Sunderland on Sunday.

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De Zerbi replaces interim coach Igor Tudor, who failed to win any of his five league matches after taking over from the sacked Thomas Frank.

“What I want to achieve immediately is the character, the right spirit, the courage to play and to attack because the DNA of this club is to find the goal, to score,” the Italian said.

Tottenham are yet to win a league game in 2026, but De Zerbi remains confident the squad has the quality to survive.

“I’m sure about the level of the players. In the past, I was very close to bringing many of them to my former teams,” he said.

“I’m not better than Thomas Frank or Igor Tudor; I consider them very good coaches. I just want to bring my style, my personality and my passion to help the players show their qualities and achieve our target.”

Spurs head into the clash on the back of a 13-game winless run in the league, including a heavy 3-0 home defeat to relegation rivals Nottingham Forest in their last outing before Tudor’s departure.

Despite growing fan unrest, De Zerbi said the challenge of managing Tottenham was one he could not turn down.

“It was a big opportunity because Tottenham is one of the most important clubs in the Premier League,” he said.

“I love the qualities of the players; we have specific players suited to my style.”