Roberto De Zerbi, the Tottenham manager, has said his team are "not a team" following a 3-0 defeat away to Brentford in their Premier League opener. The loss at the Gtech Community Stadium was a humbling start for a side that narrowly avoided relegation last season and is expected to spend more than £300m this summer.
Brentford outplayed the north London side, prompting De Zerbi to criticise his players' lack of fight, their physical conditioning, and the impact of a pre-season tour of Australia. "We are not a team yet for a lot of reasons," De Zerbi said. "Before you become a team you can't say what you can do. We are not in the right physical condition for a lot of reasons. Some players came back late from the World Cup. In Australia we don't work in the right way but it is not excuses. It is a normal situation when building a new project."
De Zerbi demands improvement after poor display
De Zerbi acknowledged the need for rapid progress. "I don't want time but we have to pass through these problems. I cannot lose confidence in my players. I believe in my players, my club, myself. We are working well. We have to improve quickly. We could fight stronger than we did today. We lost too many duels today. We arrived second in the second balls. We didn't win one second ball, one duel, one tackle."
Tottenham handed debuts to Andy Robertson, Jan Paul van Hecke, Marcos Senesi, Mateus Fernandes, and Sandro Tonali. The club is close to strengthening their attack by signing Omar Marmoush and Savinho from Manchester City, but De Zerbi stressed the importance of building a collective. "There are steps to become better," he said. "Now the target is to become a team. You can't become a team from the transfer market on paper. You become a team when the players find a connection, a spirit, a soul. It's a project."
Key players missing for Tottenham
De Zerbi noted he was without Pedro Porro, Kevin Danso, and Micky van de Ven. He also mentioned that Rodrigo Bentancur, who started on the bench, returned late in pre-season.
For Brentford, it was a strong start to their second year under Keith Andrews. Keane Lewis-Potter, Vitaly Janelt, and Michael Kayode scored, while Mamadou Sangaré, the £39m signing from Lens, delivered an outstanding debut in midfield. "The club deserve a lot of credit for getting that deal done," Andrews said of Sangaré. "You've seen today what he's capable of, the attributes he has. It adds to a talented midfield. I really enjoyed his performance today. He's slotted in really well. He's a humble young man who's very, very hungry."
The defeat leaves Tottenham with much work to do as they aim to avoid a repeat of last season's struggles. De Zerbi's focus is on forging a cohesive unit, but the immediate priority is to address the physical and tactical shortcomings exposed at Brentford.
