Roberto De Zerbi admits Spurs 'don't have confidence to play great football' after Sunderland loss

Roberto De Zerbi's first game in charge of Tottenham Hotspur didn't go according to plan, as the team lost 1-0 at Sunderland and will finish the weekend in the Premier League's relegation zone.

It wasn't the new manager bounce Spurs were hoping for as they look to avoid their first relegation in half a century, but De Zerbi doesn't feel all is lost.

Despite the result, which leaves them just six matches to save their status as a Premier League side for next season, De Zerbi said he saw both the good and the bad from the troubled side.

"We played a good game, maybe not enough to win but we were unlucky in a few situations in the first half," he told the BBC.

"I cannot say anything to the players because they gave their best in terms of attitude and spirit. We can play better for sure and you can feel better. We have to work on that.

"My work is not so much on the pitch because they are good guys and I am sorry for them. I want to give them confidence in what they need.

"Tactically, we played a good first half. With the ball and without the ball. We don't have confidence to play great football but we did what we have been working on this week. The players can play better if they are feeling confident."

As to how De Zerbi plans to instill into the players the confidence required to pull their club out of danger, the former Brighton and Marseille boss said the tools are already in place for improvement.

"I can be a big brother, father, they don't need a coach," he said. "They don't need to improve [their] football. They can play better and they will play better once we reach a different level of confidence."

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