Roberto De Zerbi did not shy away from criticism after Tottenham's Premier League campaign began with a chastening 3-0 defeat at Brentford, conceding that a chaotic pre-season had left his squad physically underprepared for the demands of the opening weekend.
Spurs, who spent lavishly over the summer with outlay reportedly exceeding £300m as they look to rebound from a season that flirted with relegation trouble, were comprehensively beaten at the Gtech Community Stadium. Goals from Keane Lewis-Potter, Vitaly Janelt and Michael Kayode gave Keith Andrews' side a dominant start to their second campaign under his stewardship, with new midfield signing Mamadou Sangaré also catching the eye on his debut.
De Zerbi fielded a side missing several key figures, with Pedro Porro, Kevin Danso and Micky van de Ven all unavailable, while Rodrigo Bentancur only returned to training late in pre-season. The absences forced the Italian into fielding a backline that had never played a competitive match together, while doubts over the fitness of Mateus Fernandes and James Maddison meant neither started in midfield. Despite those selection headaches, five players did make their Tottenham debuts on the day: Andy Robertson, Jan Paul van Hecke, Marcos Senesi, Fernandes and Sandro Tonali.
Speaking after the match, De Zerbi was blunt in his assessment of where his side currently stand. "We are not a team yet for a lot of reasons," he said. "Before you become a team you can't say what you can do. We are not in the right physical condition for a lot of reasons. Some players came back late from the World Cup. In Australia we don't work in the right way but it is not excuses. It is a normal situation when building a new project."
The Spurs boss pointed to a disrupted pre-season tour of Australia, explaining that circumstances there had prevented his squad from training as intended, though he was careful to frame this as context rather than justification. He also referenced the effects of players' involvement in the Club World Cup, which delayed their return to full training.
De Zerbi insisted he had already sensed trouble brewing following Tottenham's final pre-season fixture, a 3-0 win over Hoffenheim. "I knew after the Hoffenheim game, I said we are not in the right point, we are late for the start of the Premier League," he said. "But it's a step, we have to improve quickly."
He was critical of his side's application against Brentford, highlighting a lack of physical intensity throughout the match. "We could fight stronger than we did today. We lost too many duels today. We arrived second in the second balls. We didn't win one second ball, one duel, one tackle," he said, adding that timing errors had undermined attempts to press higher up the pitch.
Despite the heavy setback, De Zerbi struck a note of patience regarding his younger players, singling out 19-year-old Lucas Bergvall for praise despite being substituted at halftime. He suggested that such lapses were part of a natural development process rather than cause for alarm.
Looking ahead, the manager stressed that assembling a genuine team could not be achieved simply through transfer activity, even with major deals for Omar Marmoush and Savinho from Manchester City reportedly close to completion. "You become a team when the players find a connection, a spirit, a soul. It's a project," he said, urging patience while insisting his belief in the group remained unshaken.
For Brentford, the result marked an emphatic start to the Andrews era's second season, with the manager offering special praise for £39m signing Sangaré. "The club deserve a lot of credit for getting that deal done," Andrews said. "You've seen today what he's capable of, the attributes he has. It adds to a talented midfield. I really enjoyed his performance today. He's slotted in really well. He's a humble young man who's very, very hungry."
Based on reporting from Standard Football and The Guardian.