Roberto De Zerbi has revealed that he knew Tottenham would not be ready for the start of the Premier League season after a disjointed pre-season left his players struggling for fitness.
Spurs were humbled 3-0 by Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday, with the Bees' intensity overwhelming De Zerbi's side from start to finish.
Missing key players
Missing key players Micky van de Ven and Pedro Porro, who returned late from the World Cup, Spurs named a mismatched defence that had not played together in a competitive game before.
There were also changes in midfield, where Mateus Fernandes and James Maddison were not deemed fit enough to start, and De Zerbi admitted his team have not come into the new season in the right physical condition.
“For many reasons,” he replied when asked why his team were unable to control the game. “I think we are not a team yet, for a lot of reasons. Yesterday in the press conference, when you asked me what is the target, we can fix the target when you become a team. Before becoming a team, we can't say what we can do.
Physical condition concerns
“For sure, we are not in the right point in physical condition for a lot of reasons. For the players, they came late after the World Cup, because in Australia we couldn't work in the right way for the trip, don't take risk for a lot of things, but are not excuses.
“They are the normal situation when you are building a new project, a new process. I don't want time, but we have to pass through these problems. I couldn't lose confidence in my players. I believe in my players, I believe in my club, I believe in myself. I think we are working well, but in this moment.”
Spurs ended pre-season unbeaten, rounding off their preparations last weekend with a comfortable 3-0 win over Hoffenheim at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Steps to improve
Despite his side's comprehensive victory, though, De Zerbi said he knew after the game that Spurs were behind schedule in terms of their fitness.
“I knew after the Hoffenheim game, I said we are not in the right point, we are late for the start of the Premier League. But it's a step, we have to improve quickly,” De Zerbi continued.
“Anyway, we could fight stronger than we did today. We lost too many duels, we made too many mistakes in the timing when we wanted to push the pressure higher. We arrived second for the second ball, we didn't win one second ball, one duel, one tackle, and it's tough.
“But if you analyse everything, you can find that we played with one [born in] 2007, one 2006.
“Lucas Bergvall, the second goal. I think he didn't play bad today, even if I substituted in the half-time. But Lucas Bergvall in the next two years, he will not lose that ball in that moment of the game. But there are steps to become better.
“Now the focus and the target is to become a team. Because a team, you can't become a team for the transfer market window, for the players, the new players, the paper, the player of the paper, no. You become teams with the players, they find the connection between them, they find the spirit, they find the soul, like I said yesterday, and it's a process.”
