Roberto De Zerbi dismisses talk he joined Tottenham for money

Roberto De Zerbi scoffed at suggestions he joined Tottenham for the money and promised to rapidly improve the mentality of his squad in a bid to secure safety.

Spurs travel to Sunderland on Sunday without a Premier League victory in 2026 and in a real fight to avoid a seismic first relegation in 49 years.

Tottenham initially turned to De Zerbi after Thomas Frank was sacked on February 11, but were unsuccessful after his exit from Marseille in the same week and instead went down the interim route with Igor Tudor.

It proved a disastrous appointment with Tudor losing five of his seven matches before he departed by mutual consent on March 29 and this time De Zerbi did answer Spurs’ SOS call, despite the realistic threat of a bottom-three finish.

With no relegation release clause included in a bumper five-year contract, De Zerbi was asked if money was the major factor behind agreeing to take over Tottenham in such a precarious position.

“No,” De Zerbi insisted. “You can find the right answer in my history because I left a lot of money in my life and the money never changed my focus on my work.

“Marseille was a special place. I didn’t say goodbye yet to my former fans, my former club, because I didn’t want to make any polemic. And in that moment, it was good to stay at home.

“For me, it’s not a problem this situation for Tottenham. When you come in this club, you have not to decide depending on the situation in that moment.

“You have to have a longer vision. Now, the focus is on this season, these seven games, to keep (in) the Premier League.”

De Zerbi feels the key is to change the mentality of a squad of players low-on-confidence, but also hinted that his front-footed and attacking style should be more suited to this group.

He added: “I want to keep the ball. I want to see again the Tottenham I watched with (Ange) Postecoglou because in my second season in Brighton, there was Postecoglou here with a lot of these players and it was one of the best teams in terms of quality of play.

“With Pedro Porro, with (Destiny) Udogie, with (Micky) Van de Ven, with (Cristian) Romero and I would like to see it again.

“The guys know the situation is very difficult, but if you watch them against Liverpool and also Atletico Madrid, they showed their qualities, they showed sometimes the right spirit.

“We have to show this for 90 minutes and we have to believe in ourselves – the most important part in football is the mental part.

“You are used to speaking too much about the style of play, the tactical disposition, blah, blah, blah, but in the end, the mental part is crucial in every work, especially in football, especially in this moment in Tottenham.”

With Guglielmo Vicario still sidelined, Antonin Kinsky faces a huge mental challenge if selected on Sunday after his two mistakes on a horror night against Atletico Madrid on March 10 where he was withdrawn after 17 minutes.

“I think his qualities are enough to play at Tottenham. The other players believe in him,” De Zerbi added.

“He has to stay calm and confident. He is playing at Tottenham. He has to be stronger than the mistakes and to move on.”