Roberto De Zerbi reacts to the upcoming three-week-long international break as he continues to work closely with his Tottenham squad to embed his ideas.
There is now a very real possibility that Spurs could go until 10 October without scoring a single Premier League goal.
After failing to score in any of their first four league games, the Lilywhites welcome Aston Villa to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday.
There is an extended international break after that, with Spurs’ next league fixture coming only on October 10 at Old Trafford.
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Roberto De Zerbi suggests extended international break may be better for Tottenham
When asked about the length of the international break, the Tottenham boss admitted that he has bigger things to worry about at the moment, with his side travelling to Anfield for a Carabao Cup third round clash against Liverpool.
However, the Italian conceded that having one long break may be preferable to having several shorter ones.
When asked what he makes of the new format of the international break, De Zerbi told Football.London with a grimace: “Don’t you think I have enough problems without thinking about the international break?
“I don’t know, we’ll have to see. Maybe it’s better because a break every month is worse but we’ll see.”
The new-look international break, which lasts a full three weeks, will present clubs with an interesting conundrum this season. Should they give squad players some time off? What about a warm weather training camp? Or will they opt to simply promote some U21 players to senior training to make up the numbers and continue as normal?
When asked if he has a plan for the players who remain at Hotspur Way during the break, De Zerbi added: “I want to wait and see the call-ups and then we have two plans and we organise everything.”
De Zerbi insists he is happy and proud to be at Spurs despite outside noise
The pressure on the 46-year-old is ratcheting up very quickly, with many being extremely critical of Tottenham for playing so poorly after spending big.
However, De Zerbi insists that early teething issues are to be expected at the start of a new project.
When asked about the outside noise and the demands, he said: “I am happy to work at Tottenham, proud to be here and I keep my seat with passion and the best way I can, it’s a normal part of the project.
“It’s not right to say the names of the teams but in the last 10 years there are teams in the Premier League who spent money and changed many players and the change was not so immediate. Sometimes you think it can be better in the beginning, sometimes stronger, but the normal plan, the normal project is a normal process.”