Roberto De Zerbi has just seven games to fix five desperate Tottenham problems

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Roberto De Zerbi has a massive task ahead of him at Tottenham Hotspur and there are five issues in particular which need to be resolved.

The Tottenham supporters must be brought back on board

Tottenham Hotspur fans were right behind their team against Nottingham Forest. In fact, the pre-match scenes outside the stadium were not dissimilar from the Europa League celebrations in May last year.

However, Spurs failed to deliver on the pitch, leading to a very empty Tottenham Hotspur Stadium by the time the match had ended.

Roberto De Zerbi needs to get the Tottenham supporters believing again, because without any momentum from the stands, his team could struggle to get going.

Spurs have to defend better

Fair play to Igor Tudor for actually getting Tottenham to play some half-decent attacking football, but his team could not defend to save their lives.

Spurs shipped three goals at home to Nottingham Forest, five at Atletico Madrid and four against Arsenal.

De Zerbi has to figure out a way to make his side more secure at the back, otherwise it will not even matter how good the attack becomes.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
15	LeedsLeeds	31	7	12	12	37	48	-11	33
16	Nottingham ForestNottingham Forest	31	8	8	15	31	43	-12	32
17	TottenhamTottenham	31	7	9	15	40	50	-10	30
18	West HamWest Ham	31	7	8	16	36	57	-21	29
19	BurnleyBurnley	31	4	8	19	33	61	-28	20

Roberto De Zerbi has to find a formation that works for Tottenham

One of Tudor’s biggest problems was that he could not find a system which functioned well with the players at his disposal.

From three at the back to a strike partnership up front, Tottenham struggled to click under the Croat boss.

The new manager is known to play with a 4-2-3-2 formation, but does this meet the needs of his squad? This is something he will have to figure out.

Micky van de Ven needs to be back at his best

If one Spurs player had to be described as broken, surely it would be Micky van de Ven after his abysmal performances under Tudor.

The Dutchman’s attitude was not always what it should be when Thomas Frank was in charge, but he almost seemed to give up completely with Tudor as his manager.

However, van de Ven is still a top class talent on his day and if De Zerbi can get him firing again, Tottenham have a good chance of avoiding relegation from the Premier League.

Roberto De Zerbi must find a player to cover the Tottenham right wing  

If Mohammed Kudus is back in action before Tottenham take on Sunderland, that will be a massive boost.

Alternatively, if this is not the case, De Zerbi needs to identify a member of his new squad who is able to deliver on the right side of attack.

Pedro Porro and Djed Spence have both played higher up the pitch, but the Spaniard is definitely not a winger. Spence showed a bit more promise as a left winger, but neither have been the ideal solution. This is another problem which De Zerbi has to figure out.

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