De Zerbi hits back at Tottenham negativity: ‘Only losers cry’
Italian coach Roberto De Zerbi sent out a warning to Tottenham Hotspur players and fans as they battle relegation from the Premier League. ‘Losers cry and think negative.’
The former Benevento, Sassuolo, Shakhtar Donetsk, Brighton and Olympique Marseille tactician took over from Igor Tudor as the third coach of a seemingly cursed campaign at Spurs on March 31.
He has overseen a 1-0 defeat to Sunderland, 2-2 draw against his old club Brighton, and 1-0 victory away to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
They are still in the relegation zone, but De Zerbi used today’s press conference to send out a strong message.
De Zerbi refusing to let Tottenham give up
“I heard, ‘It is impossible’. We are crying, everyone, ‘We are relegated.’ Not yet,” noted the Italian.
“We have to die on the pitch and to die on the pitch we have to lose the game. Before losing the game, we have to play and we have to fight.
“We have two points less than West Ham and they have to play a difficult game as well. It is not the best moment for us. It is a tough and difficult moment.
“But the losers cry, the losers think negative. I don’t want people close to me to be crying or think in a different way from me.”
"The losers cry, the losers think negative."
Spurs boss Roberto De Zerbi says his players have to "die on the pitch" and stay emotionally positive in their battle against relegation. pic.twitter.com/S3d8fi4dEI
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) May 1, 2026
It has been said for decades that Tottenham have a sense of negativity about them, which can see the club under various different managers and players manage to fumble successful situations.
De Zerbi decided to attack the ‘Spursy’ reputation head-on, just as Antonio Conte had done before him.
“The most important challenge now is to silence the voice inside of us. Inside of the players, the staff and the fans,” continued the Italian.
“This voice produces negative thoughts and it says we are unlucky, we have too many injuries, we lost Xavi Simons, he was in the last two games one of our best and most important players.
“Our medical staff not good enough, the pitch of the stadium and the training ground is not good, it is impossible winning two or three games in a row because we have not won too many games in 2026.
“I think these are all negative things and it’s rubbish because I want to keep my focus on ourselves and the quality of my players.”