De Zerbi: Tottenham’s winning mentality can deliver goals through Solanke, Savinho and Marmoush

Roberto De Zerbi says Tottenham Hotspur’s only acceptable mindset in the Premier League is to win, after his side claimed their first point of the season in a goalless draw with Nottingham Forest.

Tottenham had lost their opening two league matches against Brentford and Newcastle before being held to a 0-0 draw by Forest. The result ended that losing run, although the club are still waiting for their first victory of the campaign.

De Zerbi was pleased with the way his players defended and competed, particularly after Tottenham avoided conceding a goal.

“On the level of performance, I am very, very proud,” De Zerbi told the BBC. “I feel very happy when I see my players fighting in this way. We did not allow ourselves to be in danger of conceding goals.”

The Tottenham manager said the team had begun its latest period of work on the previous Thursday and praised the commitment shown by the entire squad.

“We are working now because we started working last Thursday,” he added. “I am very happy with the players’ spirit, mentality and behaviour. That applies to the players who played 90 minutes, 70 minutes, 20 minutes or 10 minutes.

“This is our way. We have a lot of quality in the players. The human level inside the dressing room is fantastic, and now we have to work and improve in every aspect of football.”

Egypt international Omar Marmoush started for Tottenham and remained on the pitch until the 82nd minute. He came close to scoring on more than one occasion but was unable to convert his chances.

De Zerbi believes Tottenham have enough attacking quality to become a more prolific side, naming Dominic Solanke, Savinho and Marmoush as players capable of scoring regularly.

“Our team’s mentality is to win, then win, then win,” he said. “But we have to keep calm to maintain our confidence in ourselves. I think we have players with enough quality to score many goals, such as Solanke, Savinho and Omar Marmoush.”

The Italian also expressed his satisfaction with Tottenham’s work in the transfer market, crediting the club’s leadership for operating with ambition and a clear plan.

“I am very happy with the transfer window,” De Zerbi said. “I think the club, the sporting director and the chief executive did a very, very good job, with ambition and clear ideas.

“Now we have to work, because in football you cannot ask for time, but without time you cannot do anything.”

Tottenham’s point against Nottingham Forest was their first of the Premier League season following defeats by Brentford and Newcastle. The club must now build on the defensive resilience shown in the draw while improving in attack, with De Zerbi insisting that winning remains the central objective.