Roberto De Zerbi believes Tottenham have shown greater unity since holding an honest team meeting before their recent match against Manchester United.
Spurs secured a 1-1 draw against 10-man United before climbing out of the bottom three with a 3-1 home victory over Coventry on Monday. Although De Zerbi thought the display against Coventry left room for improvement, he praised his players’ mentality after they earned their first Premier League win of the campaign.
“It matters,” the Tottenham manager said. “The result is valuable, but two other things matter even more. Firstly, we showed ourselves that we can win matches just like every other Premier League team. Secondly, we must bring our own commitment, as we have over the past two weeks. Before the Old Trafford match, we held an important meeting to discuss our position. We cannot make progress until we accept responsibility.”
De Zerbi took his players to Marbella last week for warm-weather training and an opportunity to strengthen relationships within the squad. “This week was valuable because we spent time together and worked on becoming a family,” he said. “When difficulties arise during a match, you must fight for your teammates as though they are friends and brothers, rather than playing like 11 machines on the field.”
Tottenham moved ahead through a superb strike from James Maddison, who was making his first start in 536 days. Jack Rudoni levelled for Coventry, but Omar Marmoush restored Spurs’ advantage with his first goal since departing Manchester City, before Ben Davies completed the scoring.
The victory lifted Spurs to 16th place. De Zerbi was also encouraged to see Maddison score for the first time since May 2025 and Dejan Kulusevski return from the bench for his first appearance since sustaining a serious knee injury that same month.
“They bring different qualities,” De Zerbi said. “Their abilities, experience and personalities are not the same. Their presence changes the mood inside the dressing room.”
Frank Lampard praised Coventry’s determination but questioned why Marmoush’s goal stood after the Egyptian appeared to catch Milan van Ewijk with an elbow. “That was my impression,” the Coventry manager said. “When a player turns with his elbow raised that high and makes contact with Milan, I expected the video officials to disallow the goal.”
Lampard nevertheless remained positive about his team’s performance. “It was a very strong showing,” he said. “The 3-1 scoreline makes the match look different, because at 2-1 we were still applying pressure.”
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