Roberto De Zerbi believes he will have to be a brother or father rather than a head coach if he is to pull Tottenham from their relegation predicament in the Premier League.
The Italian saw his side beaten in his first game in charge of Spurs, who slumped to a 1-0 defeat to Sunderland at the Stadium of Light thanks to Nordi Mukiele’s second-half winner.
Spurs are now two points adrift of safety, having seen their winless run stretch to 14 games in the Premier League.
Speaking to BBC Match of the Day, De Zerbi said: “I’m sorry because we didn’t deserve to lose the game. We played a good game, maybe not enough to win, but we were unlucky in a few situations in the first half.
“I can be a big brother, father; they don’t need a coach. They don’t need to improve football. They can play better, and they will play better once we reach a different level of confidence.”
Spurs are on their longest-ever winless run in the Premier League, while it is their second-longest league run overall behind a streak of 16 between December 1934 and April 1935.
Both Igor Tudor and De Zerbi have now lost their first Premier League match in charge of Spurs, after none of the previous nine Tottenham managers (including caretakers) had lost their first league match in charge of the club (W6 D3).
Moreover, they remain one of just two teams in the Premier League this season who have failed to win a match after going behind, along with Wolves. Overall, Spurs have gone behind in 23 different matches, going on to lose 16 of those and draw the other seven.
But Zerbi is relishing the challenge, adding: “Absolutely, I’m sure if we are able to win a game, then everything will change.”
“I cannot say anything to players because they gave their best in terms of attitude and spirit. We can play better for sure, and you can feel better. We have to work on that.
“My work is not so much on the pitch because they are good guys, and I am sorry for them. I want to give them confidence in what they need.
“Tactically, we played a good first half. With the ball and without the ball. We don’t have confidence to play great football, but we did what we have been working on this week. The players can play better if they are feeling confident.”
Defeat at the Stadium of Light. pic.twitter.com/8NEQogM0rW
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) April 12, 2026
Before this win, Sunderland had failed to beat Spurs in the Premier League since April 2010, a run of 15 games.
They kept their sixth clean sheet at the Stadium of Light in the top-flight this season, with only Arsenal (eight) and Manchester City (seven) keeping more at home in the competition. Moreover, their 14 goals conceded at home are again bettered only by the aforementioned duo (both 11).
Both of Mukiele’s goals in the Premier League have been scored at the Stadium of Light, and both have been winning goals, with the other coming against Wolves in October 2025.
There was a stroke of luck about this winner, but the defender felt it was just reward for taking the chance to shoot.
“In football, you have to take a chance, and that’s what I did. I took the shot, and it went in, so I am really happy for the performance of the team,” Mukiele told Sky Sports.
“The energy is very important after we lost three games in a row. We were at home, it was our tempo and our rules.
“We started very strong, and the season is very long. We deserve where we are today because we work hard.
“Now is a bonus, and now we have six games to show where we are. We have to stay humble.”
Back-to-back wins have left Sunderland well in the congested hunt for European football next season, but boss Regis Le Bris is letting others do the talking on that front.
“Not me directly [talking about Europe], but I know the players are talking behind me!” Le Bris joked.
“We want to be a top-10 team, and we want to achieve that consistency. We still have a lot to do, and we want to enjoy this period.”