"PRESSURE? NO! WE MUST STAY CALM!" PRESS CONFERENCE: Roberto De Zerbi: Tottenham Hotspur v Everton

0:00This podcast is proud to be part of the TalkSport fan network. TalkSport, powered by fans. Afternoon. You're left on. Should we do our normal and start with a little bit of teen news? I guess in particular, Mudrick, if Madison might be back and how Kulosefsky is getting on, I guess, and anything else that we may be on, of course. And Kulosefsky is not working with us in the last week. No big problem. The normal problem when one player is out of long time, like Mudrick, was a stupid injury of Mudrick. And we hope he can back as soon as possible. For him, for us, for him, because he suffered too much.

1:02And for us, because we lost one player, important player. He played 20 minutes, 15 minutes in nothing. He played well, but is the normal pro-sex when one player doesn't play for a long time. Madison, is he back this weekend? Medison, yes. Good to go from the start. Should you go ahead from the start? Yeah, I'm happy when all my players are available. It's maybe a problem for me because my decisions are not easy, but I want to manage all players together. You spoke last week about how impressive you've been with Bergval after the initial discussions that maybe he didn't want to be part of the club. You spoke about how he comes to you and said, I really want to be where you are, what you're doing, I want to buy into this.

2:06So how pleased are you that he's signed this new contract, how impressed have you been by his character? And for you, where does he fit in to top them over the next couple of seasons? I'm delighted for the extension of his contract, he's working very well. It's difficult now because the competition, especially in his position, Betancourt, Gallagher, are all players at the level, but I think at the end of the season he will play part of the game. Many games, I think. And then he has to improve, he has to... We have to help him to improve, and he has to work like he has done, like he's doing, especially in this season.

3:07At the beginning of the season he has been fantastic on the pitch. It is, obviously, ever turn, and you think back a couple of months to that crucial day when Tottenham made sure they stayed in the Premier League. How different does this squad, how much better is this squad now than it was then? And do you feel that what you've seen in the last few weeks suggests that you can finally get that first Premier League victory of the season? I think we are better than the last season, especially the end of the season, many injuries. It is difficult to believe right now because we are not winning, we are not scoring, but I'm positive because I believe in my player, I believe in this group of the players. I think the player have a big, big qualities, big potential.

4:10And now I'm positive, I don't say nothing more because at the end there is always the result of the pitch and the performance, but I think we are working well also in this week. In Tottenham, I watched something different than Brentforth Foschur. And Newcastle was a particular game because until when our off-game, I think we decided to win that part of the game and then we lost to Neil. But I think we are in the right way and in the right moment the improvement. Just talking about still searching for that first win in the league this season,

5:13you're one of three clubs that hasn't scored yet in the first three games. Do you feel any pressure? Does that play at all on your mind? Me or the... I mean, I guess you are collectively the team. I'm not happy for sure because I suffer the defeat. I suffer when I don't score. But I'm not so young, I have experience enough to analyze better the situation. And they said in Brentforth we were not ready for many, many reasons. In Newcastle until the first goal we played better for the Newcastle and we decided to score in the first half, not one time, more times. And nothing, we played a normal, plainly game against one physical team, one team who played the second ball.

6:14I think we didn't consider the shoot on our goal. We had one clear chance with Mickey Van der Van on set pieces and two big, big potential one, Tonali for Savin in the first half and the second half of Marmouche for Kudus and the Robertson. So I think it was a normal game. We can play much better for sure. We are not happy, pressure no. Why pressure the pressure was the last season in that situation of the table, not now, because now we are working to become team and we are building a new team with new relationships, new connections, new style of play, new many players. So I think we have to stay calm and positive without any pressure.

7:20You have touched upon about the shots on target and as well building on a new team with new signings. What do you expect from them going ahead in this season? I expect they will be more of a piece than not the one in the game. The quality is for sure because I am sure about the qualities of Robertson, Cinezy, Mateusz Fernandez, Tonali, Savinio, J.P. Van der Van der Van, Marmouche and sure. Even they don't play well. I can't change my idea now. And then I would like to see one team playing with courage, with energy to try to dominate the game, to dominate the pressure with the right spirit, what spirit I like.

8:20An Everton coming into the game on beaten so far. What do you expect from them this weekend? Everton is the same because Tarkoski, Blood White, Pique for the Desburiol, all of them, Mikko, Lanko, Brillish, are very good players, very physical players. They know very well the Premier League. But I think we have to be focused on our qualities, we have to be focused on what we have to do on the pitch and play without thinking, without other things on the head. Are you better? How are you? Do your team need to win tomorrow? Not for any other reason, but to stop all the noise

9:20and everybody thinking that this is going to be another season of spurs struggle. But we need to score, we need to win against Liverpool on Tuesday against Estonville next week. We need to win, but it's not enough to say we need to win. We need to win a game. We have to build the right way to win the game. So we have to press, we have to play, we have to keep the ball, we have to play with Coraz, to play following what we are doing on the training ground. And then we go to see the result. Without this part of football, it's not like you win the game. You mentioned the word courage twice already in this press conference.

10:21Are your team brave enough? Yes, because we can play, we could play much better because they work with the players every day. I know the player better than you. And during the week we play with more confidence, with more courage, with more confidence. Yeah, confidence, I said, with freedom, no. And during the game, when we have the opponent three meters, four meters, it's like we don't want the ball or we don't want to take any risk because if we lose the ball, if we lose the ball, we consider what is the problem I am and the coach I take the responsibility I have to take without problem. But I would like to play, to play, to play, to play, to run, to press, to shoot many times, more times on the goal because I know the potential of my players.

11:26And you mentioned after the new course of game about mentality. Have you been sorting that problem out? Because you said that mentality was a problem after the first two games. No, after the first goal, because we played well, no, amazing, but we played very well until the goal we considered. And then, I saw a little demoralism. And I don't want, because the game, if you consider goal 60 minutes, you have another 30 minutes to score one or two or three goals and we have to push until the end. Also, because especially in this moment, we have to build our value. And we lose the game when the referee say he's finished the game.

12:30Until the end of the game, we have to push for getting results because we are our job, we play for a big club. And we have to respect our club, how pushing until the end. When the game finish, we go home and we go to see if we won or we lost the game. For that, I said the mentality. No, in general. In general, I made it because I can't say anything about the mentality, the spirit, the devil, of the players, nothing to say. You said Madrigues in jury was stupid, what exactly happened? Playing without taking, without different movement, he felt pain,

13:30and then after two days, he made the medical check and we knew the problem. But after a long time, we knew he was stupid in jury, but we are not stupid. When we signed Madrigues, we already knew it would be difficult to come back as a normal player. At the player coming back from injury, you've had a few substitute appearances now, Muhammad Kudus. You thought you were going to have in April and then he had a set back then. I remember you saying about then how important it was going to be for you. Is he ready to start now and just how big a player is going to be for you? I think very close to being ready to start the game. It's amazing things for me.

14:31I wanted more Kudus when I was in Brighton. I pushed it a lot to bring him before he went to West Ham. He can play as a winger, as an under 10, as a striker also, and he's an amazing player. It's kind of keeping on going on about the wing, Savio. I think you said, as I've said last week, you said about the options you had on the left were telling Mudric. Do you not see Savio able to play on the left or do you prefer him cutting in from the right? I was a player and I was a winger, maybe more number 10, but I played in many years for a light winger, let food. I love the winger in opposite side, but Savio is top. I think he can play both positions.

15:32Is it an issue George, please? Iroberto, speaking with that left side of attack, is James Madison an option there when he's back? Or do you see him more as the number 10? Yes, I think he can be an option. Normally, he's not a winger, but we have to build a situation to put inside and to push higher the left back. But Madison is very smart. When you play with smart players, they can understand the position. They feel they smell the right position, depends on the situation. So I think it can be a good solution, especially because Connor Gallagher and Mateusz Fernandez can play as a midfielder. It's a 10 midfielder, not as a winger inside or like Chavicinus last season.

16:35Maybe sometimes you have a midfielder able to start as a winger and then come inside with a bowling position. But it's not like this for me, for my idea, for Gallagher and also for Mateusz. But the Madison is like Chavic and he can play in that position. And Lucas has signed a new deal. Whenever we talk about Lucas, we often talk about Archie Gray because they join together, they're both so young. Would you like Archie Gray to be one of the next ones to sign a new contract to show him as a future? I'm happy when I'm generous as a man. And when the people close to me extend his contract, I'm happy. Also Anthony, if he extend his contract, I'm happy for him. And just finally, Richelis and Trayne with the group.

17:36Good, you're a contract, long. No, long enough. No. Richelis and Trayne. Richelis and Trayne with the group this week. What's the latest with him? Is he close to a move or a light to stay? I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. It's not my job. What I can say is I know very well what the club has done for Richelis and they know very well what Richelis has done for the club. I know in the last two months. I know the club knows. He knows. His agent knows. Everyone knows. Better than you. Much better.