A section of Tottenham supporters have been left “disappointed” after Roberto De Zerbi decided against the squad arriving by team coach ahead of this weekend’s Premier League fixture against Brighton.
Thousands of fans turned out to welcome the Spurs‘ players upon their arrival at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for last month’s pivotal relegation clash against Nottingham Forest. Similar plans had been put in place ahead of Saturday evening’s match against Brighton, but those arrangements have now been scrapped.
In a statement posted on X by @SpursArmyTweets: “Contrary to what we had hoped for, the players will not be arriving on the team coach for the Brighton game. We have been in discussion with the club and this is purely a decision taken by Roberto De Zerbi – the players will arrive earlier due to his reasoning.
“He and the club have both apologised for the Coach Meet not taking place. Disappointing, as we had hoped we can welcome them again in thousands, as we try to give them a lift ahead of a vital time for the club.
“However, we purely understand that this is now do or die and we support whatever Roberto sees fit in order for his players to have the best possible preparation.
“We have already been in discussions, as a contingency, in case the Coach Meet did not materialise. It is now a tight turnaround, but other plans are being worked on to raise the atmosphere before kick-off. More details to follow soon.”
The importance of the Brighton fixture has grown considerably following last weekend’s results, which plunged Spurs into the relegation zone.
West Ham defeated Wolves on Friday night, while Forest claimed a point against Aston Villa on Sunday. Simultaneously, Tottenham fell to defeat against Sunderland, and Leeds United overcame Manchester United on Monday evening.
Daniel Farke’s side face Spurs next month but could well have secured their top-flight status by then, with nine points now separating the two clubs. Before that north London encounter, Spurs must first travel to face Wolves and Aston Villa, with the hope that the latter will have their attentions firmly fixed on their Europa League campaign.
Injury woes have compounded De Zerbi’s challenges further, with two significant setbacks emerging since his arrival at the club. Mohammed Kudus sustained a hamstring problem while working his way back to full fitness, and Cristian Romero has now been ruled out for the remainder of the season.
The Spurs captain picked up a knee injury against Sunderland that will keep him sidelined for several weeks. One encouraging fitness update did emerge in training on Wednesday, however, with Rodrigo Bentancur returning to partial training.
James Maddison was also seen training on the grass at Hotspur Way alongside his teammates, yet remains some considerable distance from a return to action following his ACL surgery.