De Zerbi vows to revive Postecoglou’s Tottenham in relegation battle

Robin Bairner

Updated: 11 Apr 2026 11:18 BST
4 min read

Roberto De Zerbi, Ange Postecoglou, Tottenham — © IMAGO

Tottenham manager Robert De Zerbi says he wants to bring back the style of Ange Postecoglou to the club as he leads Spurs into the Premier League relegation battle.

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The North London side dropped into the Premier League relegation zone on Friday night thanks to West Ham’s victory over Wolves, but De Zerbi is plotting an escape using a stylish brand of football.

He will lead Spurs for the first time when they travel to Sunderland on Sunday, and the stakes could barely be higher after they fell into the bottom three. The Italian, who was sacked by Marseille earlier this year, has only been in his new post a matter of days after agreeing a five-year contract but has been thrown in at the deep end.

De Zerbi takes on challenge Big Ange vowed against

“I want to see the Tottenham of Ange Postecoglou again,” he told La Repubblica.

While De Zerbi’s promise to bring back the panache and excitement of the Postecoglou era at Spurs is an exciting one, Tottenham’s former manager has already sounded an alarm over the pitfalls of a ‘system manager’ taking over an ailing club midway through the season.

The Aussie was sacked after eight matches at Nottingham Forest and says he will not take another job without a pre-season campaign.

“Jumping in mid-season, especially in the Premier League but in most leagues is probably too much of a challenge for the way I do things,” he told Melbourne radio station SEN 1116.

© IMAGO - Ange Postecoglou was sacked by Nottingham Forest after taking the job midway through the season

In a battle to alleviate these concerns, De Zerbi has promised to keep things simple for now.

“People talk too much about tactics and schemes: I'll pass on just 2-3 ideas to the players. The important thing is they play with freedom and calmness. We need to hold the ball: that's how you win. If we concede a goal, oh well,” he explained.

“Style is one part of my game; the other is character, personality, and of course organisation with or without the ball. We need to have the right spirit.”

De Zerbi laments ‘perfect’ Kudus’ injury

De Zerbi has lamented that his time at Spurs has started with yet another injury blow – something that has dogged the club all season.

“Kudus has just picked up an injury, and given his attributes, he would have been perfect for me,” he said.

Current ETV

Mohammed Kudus

F, M (R)

Tottenham

Mohammed Kudus

F, M (R)

Tottenham

ETV Range

€55.6M - €67.9M

“We have so many injured players. But I have excellent forwards, and we need to get them into the right condition, from Kolo Muani to Solanke, from Xavi Simons to Richarlison. We have to do it anyway.”

De Zerbi arrives with no room for error, and even if he has vowed to remain at Tottenham even if they drop into the Championship, such an outcome would be an enormous blow for his credibility and that of the club.

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