De Zerbi tells Spurs to play for their dignity' in final-day relegation battle

Tottenham face a final-day relegation showdown against Everton after losing 2-1 at Chelsea. A home draw on Sunday is required for Spurs to remain in the Premier League, while West Ham must be relegated. West Ham are two points behind Tottenham and have a worse goal difference, and they play their final match at home against Leeds. Roberto De Zerbi frames the match as more important than last season’s Europa League final, emphasizing that club pride, history, and dignity matter more than a trophy. He focuses players on earning points and staying mentally upright, and he confirms they understand the meaning of dignity. He also chooses not to dwell on a late penalty decision against them, instead highlighting the team’s late effort.

"Spurs, who lost 2-1 at Chelsea on Tuesday night, need a home draw on Sunday to ensure they stay up and West Ham go down. The Hammers, who are two points below them in the final relegation place and with a greatly inferior goal difference, play their final game at home against Leeds. There were wild celebrations when Spurs beat United in the final in Bilbao to win their first silverware in 17 years."

"My focus is to prepare the next game and to make points because Sunday is the final for Tottenham, not Bilbao against Man United. De Zerbi said. The most important game is Sunday because last season they played for the trophy, now we play for something more important. Because the pride, the history of the club, the dignity are more important than the trophy."

"The trophy you can win, you can lose and nothing changes in your life. You can have one trophy more. But the most important is to keep the dignity, to keep the pride, to go on holiday like this [with your head up] and not like this [with your head down]. De Zerbi was asked whether the players understood what he meant by dignity. Very well, he replied."

"I know they do because I'm living just for Tottenham. I have lived the last 45 days just for one thing Tottenham and for my players. I know them very well. Every one of them is focused on the target. De Zerbi refused to dwell on the non-award of a penalty towards the end of the game at 2-1 when Micky van de Ven was wrestled to the ground on a corner by the Chelsea defender, Marc Cucurella."

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