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De Zerbi decries negativity around relegation-threatened Tottenham Hotspur
01st May, 2026 08:01 PM
Tottenham boss Roberto De Zerbi launched a passionate rallying cry in the club’s fight to avoid the drop, declaring “we are not relegated yet,” and wants an end to “negative” voices around Spurs.
Despite earning their first Premier League win of 2026 last weekend at Wolves, Spurs remain two points from safety, and their task to beat the drop has been made even more challenging following injuries to Xavi Simons and Dominic Solanke.
No time for negativity
But ahead of Sunday’s trip to Aston Villa, where Spurs could find themselves five points adrift of West Ham if they win at Brentford on Saturday, May 2, 2026, De Zerbi has no time for negativity.
Responding to Sky Sports News’ Michael Bridge’s question, the Italian said, “I watched you on TV, but it is not a polemic. I heard, ‘It is impossible [to stay up]’. We are crying, everyone [saying], ‘We are relegated. ‘Not yet.
“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.”
He added: “The most important challenge now is to silence the voice inside of us. Inside of the players, the staff and the fans.
Spurs’ remaining fixtures
- Sunday: Aston Villa (a),
- May 11: Leeds (h),
- May 19: Chelsea (a),
- May 24: Everton (h)
“This voice produces negative thoughts, and it says we are unlucky, we have too many injuries, and we lost Xavi Simons, he was in the last two games one of our best and most important players.
“Our medical staff is not good enough; the pitch of the stadium and the training ground is not good. It is impossible to win 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.
“We go to play against one of the best teams at the moment in the Premier League. I have big respect for [Unai] Emery as a coach but if Tottenham wins at Villa Park, it is not a miracle.
“Maybe we lose, but we have the quality to win this game, and it is not a miracle.
“We have to be positive and [feel] lucky because we are working in a big club.
“If Solanke and Simons are injured, we can play with [Randal] Kolo Muani, [Mathys] Tel, Richarlison, and they are not worse players. They are different with characteristics but very good players.
“We have Pedro Porro, [Destiny] Udogie, Micky van de Ven, [Rodrigo] Bentancur, [Joao] Palhinha, and [Conor] Gallagher.
“For all these things I don’t have enough time to hear this or listen to these things.”
