Roberto De Zerbi says dinners are for winners as Spurs seek taste of victory

Roberto De Zerbi has confirmed Tottenham captain Cristian Romero will not play again this season – but he remains positive the club can stay up and promised more dinners out if they beat Brighton.

Romero suffered a knee injury in Sunday’s 1-0 loss at Sunderland, De Zerbi’s debut fixture in charge of Spurs, and the defender will miss the final six games of a disastrous Premier League campaign.

Tottenham have spent the last week in the relegation zone and De Zerbi took his 18th-placed squad out for a meal in Mayfair ahead of Saturday’s visit of his former club Brighton in an attempt to build relationships for a crucial final stretch of the season.

“Yes, I don’t know if we win the game for dinner. I know we eat very well. The food was amazing and if we win, I am ready to pay every week for one dinner,” De Zerbi smiled.

“We have to build and find in these last weeks the best relationship we can find, and I want to see on the pitch players helping their team-mates and pushing everybody for one target and to achieve our big, big target for us.

“If we don’t achieve our target, everybody will lose something in their career.

“I am positive, I am ready to fight and I believe to keep Premier League (status). I believe in my words that I said last week. The focus is to win one game.

“Yes, I think it is crucial to win a game not just for the table. Of course one part of the table for sure, but we have to feel again what is nice to win a game and what it can do. I have no doubts about the quality of the players.”

De Zerbi declined to confirm who would take the captain’s armband in the absence of Romero, but revealed Rodrigo Bentancur was available for Saturday’s critical fixture after a three-month lay-off with a hamstring injury.

Yves Bissouma is “100 per cent fit” after being an unused substitute at Sunderland but first-choice goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario is still not ready for action after he had minor hernia surgery last month.

“Bentancur is available to play. I don’t know if to start or not. Bissouma is available 100 per cent. Vicario, no,” De Zerbi explained.

“Romero, I am really sorry for him and his injury. Romero first of all loves Tottenham and the people have to know he is suffering for this injury and because he cant play any more for us this season, but he’s a great captain for us.

“We have to be any way positive. We have Radu Dragusin and Kevin, they are able to play and able to play well.

“We can win any way and we want to win any way.”

James Maddison took part in first-team training this week eight-and-a-half-months on from suffering anterior cruciate ligament damage in Seoul in pre-season, but De Zerbi was coy over his availability in the coming weeks.

“Maddison is a top player on the pitch with the ball, but also as a personality, as a character, as a mentality on the pitch,” said the Italian.

“I don’t know yet. I don’t want to push too much because we lost (Mohammed) Kudus in this way.”