Tottenham manager Roberto De Zerbi has urged his bottom-of-the-table Spurs side to react to mounting pressure as they prepare for a crunch Premier League clash against fellow strugglers Manchester United.
Spurs head to Old Trafford on Saturday in dire search of their first top-flight victory of the season.
The north London club has lost three of its opening five league matches and suffered an early League Cup exit at the hands of Liverpool.
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De Zerbi admitted he has been waiting anxiously to erase the bitter taste of a 3-2 home defeat to Aston Villa right before the international break.
With scrutiny intensifying, the Italian manager has challenged his players to rise to the occasion.
“I’ve been waiting for this game from three weeks. After the defeat at home against Aston Villa, personally I wanted to play the day after,” De Zerbi said in a press conference.
“It was difficult, it was very tough, especially the first week. But it is football. It is part of the situation in this moment. We have to react, to work in this moment.”
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After failing to score in their first four league games, Tottenham finally broke their duck with a pair of goals against Villa. However, De Zerbi conceded that converting chances remains a glaring issue if they are to climb out of the relegation zone.
“We created chances to score many other goals in these seven games but we didn’t. We are working to improve in the last third, the assists, and the finishing,” he said.
“We are fourth in the table for the team who brings the ball into the opponents’ area the most times. It is nothing, but it shows we can arrive in the area. We are not good enough to score goals so far when we have clear chances.”
