Credit: Imago

Max Wilkins

Mon 20 April 2026 12:10, UK

Tottenham Hotspur aren’t being helped by Roberto De Zerbi right now.

The Italian has taken over in North London, but has had far from the dream start to life at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

A 1-0 defeat away to Sunderland was followed by a 2-2 draw with Brighton in N17, where Georginio Rutter scored a 95th-minute equaliser.

There were positives to take, although frustrations have been heightened with relegation looking even more likely with five games to go.

De Zerbi could only watch on as Tottenham drew with Brighton, with his actions in the dugout having come under fire already.

Roberto De Zerbi only caused problems vs Brighton

The 46-year-old has a positive reputation in the Premier League for his work across two years with Brighton.

He then went on to do some good work with Marseille, but ultimately departed due to his fiery nature that clashed with the French outfit’s hierarchy.

The Italian is now at Spurs and hasn’t had a chance to stir the pot, but has certainly caught the eye with his sideline antics in North London.

De Zerbi was booked against Brighton for exiting his technical area, and former scout Bryan King believes he is causing more problems than good in N17.

Speaking exclusively to Tottenham News, King said: “All that reaction from the bench, but he’s put himself at risk of being sent off.

“De Zerbi got told off by the fourth official because he ran 20 yards outside his technical area.

“What’s all that about? It was totally unnecessary.

“Surely you need a calm figure on the line to try and transmit that to the players on the pitch.

“The most important thing as a player is concentration, and now they’ve got him shouting at them from the side?

“They’ve already got enough on their plate without all that.”

Everyone in N17 got carried away when Xavi Simons scored against Brighton, but De Zerbi needs to be a calm head, something which he certainly wasn’t on the day.

De Zerbi must calm down for the sake of Tottenham

The mission ahead of the former Marseille boss can’t be understated, and he needs to get the best out of the Lilywhites in the final five games of the season.

Tottenham are firmly inside the bottom three and have barely any time to turn things around.

The issue is that he isn’t helping himself and is getting increasingly irate on the sidelines as his side goes in search of massive results.

Emotions were far too high in the draw against Brighton and that was proven by De Zerbi’s yellow card and Xavi Simons’ exuberant celebration.

That has been the problem in N17 all season, so the Italian needs to dial things down and help his side to secure some much-needed points.