Will Romero's Tears Become The Enduring Image Of Tottenham's Season?

De Zerbi's estimation has been forged arsenic a visionary coach astatine Brighton and Marseille, but he now needs to enactment arsenic a scientist arsenic overmuch arsenic training crushed strategist to coax thing from this subsiding Spurs team.

"My occupation now is not to coach a style, pinch aliases without nan ball, but effort to springiness nan players what they request successful position of mentality," he said.

"My style is to spot nan assurance of nan players. During nan week, they play amended because they are cleanable successful their heads, but successful nan crippled it is different. My activity must beryllium to get them to show what they are doing during nan week successful a game."

De Zerbi agreed nan accent and fearfulness of relegation could beryllium nan facet consuming nan Spurs squad – but he has nary clip to suffer getting his connection across. In shot terms, this is now a captious emergency for Spurs.

He must besides hold to spot really agelong he is without Romero, whose downcast departure wiping distant tears was yet different twist successful this harrowing season.

Romero appeared to person a knee injury, though De Zerbi said "we person to spot successful nan adjacent fewer days", adding: "I dream that it is not excessively important a problem. He's a important subordinate for us. He's a bully feline and a bully subordinate pinch a large personality. We request him to decorativeness nan season."

Whatever nan prognosis, erstwhile England goalkeeper Ben Foster questioned whether Romero's downcast mode arsenic he near nan transportation sent nan correct connection to a Spurs squad already a extremity down aft Nordi Mukiele's changeable deflected past keeper Antonin Kinsky disconnected Micky van de Ven connected nan hour.

It was a infinitesimal of misfortune, nan benignant that is often nan destiny of a team, and so a club, successful crisis.

"Romero's astir apt nan 1 subordinate who has sewage a spot of characteristic successful that team, a spot of grit and determination," said erstwhile England goalkeeper Ben Foster, a pundit connected Sunday's Match of nan Day. "If I was 1 of his team-mates there, I want him to beryllium stepping disconnected nan transportation grabbing everybody, getting everybody firing.

"They've still sewage 25 minutes location until full-time. But nan tears, I feel, nonstop nan incorrect message. As a skipper you shouldn't beryllium doing that."