De Zerbi succeeded Igor Tudor as Tottenham Hotspur head coach on 31 March 2026, signing a five-year contract.
By Kehinde Okeowo
Tottenham Hotspur manager Roberto De Zerbi has blamed his team’s 3-0 thumping by Brentford in their first Premier League fixture of the season on their delayed pre-season preparation.
The 47-year-old Italian tactician made this known on Saturday night while addressing journalists after the disappointing encounter.
Brentford could have been ahead before Keane Lewis-Potter broke the deadlock after 12 minutes, and the contest was effectively over when Vitaly Janelt doubled their lead before half-time.
Tottenham boss De Zerbi made a double change at the start of the second half, sending on £85m signing Mateus Fernandes and Rodrigo Bentancur for Conor Gallagher and Lucas Bergvall.
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However, it went from bad to worse when Michael Kayode added a third after the ball fell into his path when midfielder Sangaré’s shot was saved.
De Zerbi cut a frustrated, animated figure after the match, saying: “I knew after the Hoffenheim game. I said we were NOT at the right point.
“We are late for the start of the Premier League.”
Spurs, who are in talks to sign Manchester City forward duo Savinho and Omar Marmoush, will hope to turn things around when Newcastle visit the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday, 27 August.
