Finding the right words under pressure is hard, even for managers who do it every week. PMR tracks how well they manage it in the minutes after a match.
I learned how much those words matter in places where lives were on the line. One of those moments came down to three seconds. I’ll tell you about it at the end.
Every post-match interview Roberto De Zerbi has given in Premier Managers Revealed 2026/27, collected in one place: the quotes, the score out of 12, the Identity level and the analysis, matchweek by matchweek. For the latest standings, see the Premier Managers Revealed league tables.
Matchweek 1
Brentford 3 – 0 Tottenham Hotspur
Saturday 22 August, Gtech Community Stadium
Roberto De Zerbi — Tottenham Hotspur (away)
6/12 · Identity level fed: Safety
“I’m sorry for the result, I’m sorry for the performance, for the players, for our fans, but I knew before the game, I knew from last Saturday when we played against Hoffenheim, we are not at the right point in terms of physical condition for a lot of reasons.”
“For the players, they came after the World Cup and they came late for the pre-season in Australia where we had not time to work in the right way, in the best way, but it’s not an excuse. Our first 11 today was very young, but it was enough to compete in a different way.”
“We lost too many duels. We didn’t find the right timing to go in the high pressure. I think it’s a sad day for us because I’m disappointed for the result, for the performance, but we have to be good, to analyse well the defeat.”
“We can’t lose the confidence. We can’t lose what we created last season. We have to improve, yes, we have to put something more than today, individually and collectively, but anyway, be calm, because the project has just started and I think we are working well.”
“We have to stay calm and put the focus on the improvement we have to do. I think we are all in the right situation to build something special, maybe not immediately, we need time, but I think we are in a good way.”
De Zerbi is trying to stop a young side panicking after a three nil defeat, and most of his answer is aimed at keeping them calm. He takes the blame himself and apologises to the supporters. The trouble is what comes before that. The World Cup, a late pre-season in Australia and the physical condition of the squad all come ahead of anything Spurs did on the pitch, and saying it is not an excuse does not stop it sounding like one. He names the failings honestly enough, duels and pressing timing, then names nothing his players are good at.
Source: Tottenham Hotspur official site, “Brentford 3-0 Spurs | Roberto De Zerbi’s verdict” — tottenhamhotspur.com
Matchweek 2
Tottenham Hotspur 0 – 2 Newcastle United
Saturday 29 August, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Roberto De Zerbi – Tottenham Hotspur (home)
4/12 · Identity level fed: Purpose
Disappointed for the result because until the first goal we conceded I think we played better than Newcastle. We lost ball possession in the first half because we didn’t defend in the right way, the distance between the defenders and attackers was too big. We can improve in the defensive phases but today was an unfair result. At the beginning of the second half we had some chance to create the potential chances.
We created many chances to score, we have to improve the last decision, because that will make a difference. At the end we are disappointed for the result and our fans. We are working to be a great team. When we become a team I think we can change the story of the last two seasons for Tottenham.
We are working to be good on the pitch, if you believe in work and training then you have to improve day by day.
De Zerbi says Tottenham played better until the first goal, then spends the answer on defensive distances, missed decisions and improvement. He names no specific SQA and gives the players no present evidence that they can become the great team he describes. Even the positive Identity is conditional: when they become a team, they may change the story of the previous two seasons. Work and training are offered as a general route, without saying that this group already works hard or has the qualities required. Calling the result unfair also reduces the credit given to Newcastle.
Source: Tottenham Hotspur, post-match press conference, source page
Matchweek 3
Nottingham Forest 0–0 Tottenham Hotspur
City Ground · Williams goal disallowed (VAR, handball)
Roberto De Zerbi (Tottenham)
Source: BBC Match of the Day, “What De Zerbi said”; Sky Sports via BBC; NBC Sports
Q: On the performance and the 0-0?
In terms of performance I am very, very proud. I’m delighted to watch my players fight like this. We didn’t concede risk to concede goals. We are working now, because we started last Thursday, very happy for the spirit, the attitude, the behaviour of the players. The players who played 90 minutes, 70 minutes, 20 minutes, 10 minutes. This is our way, great qualities of the players. The human level of the dressing is great, now we have to work and improve in all levels of the football. Our mood is to win, to win, to win. But I think we have to stay calm to keep the confidence in ourselves. Then I think we have the players good enough to score many goals like [Dominic] Solanke, Savio, [Omar] Marmoush.
Q: Do you have everything you need?
I’m very happy for the transfer market, I think the club, the sporting director and the CEO worked it very, very well with ambition and clear ideas. Now we have to work because in football you cannot ask for time but without time you can do nothing.
Q: On Football Manager and building a team?
We bought very, very good players but you can’t just build the team with the names like in Football Manager. We are disappointed for the result but for the performance very happy. Considering we started to work together last Thursday for the first time, for the first day. We have to improve in every part of football, organisation with and without the ball. Even today I thought we defended very well. We have to work because I think we played very well with the ball, we found the solution. I think we can be much better in the final third.
Q: Why haven’t Spurs scored in three games?
It’s not to unlock [the final third]. It’s the mistakes. We have to work in this part. I think we played very well with the ball, we found the solutions because they press [our defenders] with three, but one of our full backs was always alone and we found him always in 90 minutes. So in build-up, we played very well. In the last third, I think we can be… better. Much better.
12/12 · Identity level fed: Belonging & Purpose
De Zerbi names spirit, attitude, behaviour, human quality and the contribution of every player, regardless of minutes. He keeps the lack of goals Narrow by locating it in final-third decisions, while backing the squad’s ability and asking them to stay calm and confident. Daily work, better organisation and improvement in the final third provide a clear path without weakening the group he already has.
Matchweek 4
Tottenham Hotspur 0–0 Everton
Roberto De Zerbi, Tottenham Hotspur: 11/12
“My position is to help them.”
De Zerbi dismisses talk of a crisis and makes clear that he is there to help. His praise for the first 30 minutes gives the players evidence that they can play well. Asking them to sustain that standard makes improvement feel achievable.
Fitness and a late start explain a difficulty the team can work through. He joins those explanations to practical guidance: take more shots, make better decisions near goal and keep playing well for longer. The recent lack of goals therefore becomes a problem to solve. More detail about individual and team strengths would make the reassurance even stronger.
Breakdown: Towards 2 · SQAs 1 · Adversity 2 · Identity 2 · Path 2 · Draw Leadership 2
Source: NBC Sports post-match interview
Matchweek 5
Tottenham Hotspur 2–3 Aston Villa
Roberto De Zerbi, Tottenham Hotspur: 3/12
“I didn’t speak with the players today because I didn’t want to say nothing.”
“When we dominate the game, we create more chances to score, we play well. My focus is why we concede the first goal with 10 players just for one minute.”
“For sure, it is my responsibility. I take my responsibility, but in that moment of the game, when the game is different than ball possession, than playing in the last third, we have to defend compact. The leaders have to be leaders and to lead the team.”
“In the beginning of the second half, I spoke with the four attackers to use the head, calm. It was minute 51. The whole second half calm, play, enjoy and don’t take risks.”
“We can’t concede the second goal. We can’t lose balance just because in the first half we are losing. The goal we conceded, the second goal, was incredible.”
“We need more from him, for sure, but he’s one of my players. I like Domi as a player and I stay with him until the end. He needs to stay better, to feel better. His physical condition is not good enough for sure, but it’s normal for him.”
De Zerbi accepts responsibility and repeats the instructions he gave during the match: communicate, stay compact, remain calm and avoid forcing the play. These explain where Spurs failed, but he gives the players no Path into their next match. His support for Dominic Solanke restores a measure of belief by saying the player is better than his present form.
De Zerbi needed to manage his State and raise his players’ confidence during Spurs’ worst Premier League start after five matches, with two points and a −6 goal difference. Saying nothing was an abdication of that responsibility. He needed to remind them that they dominated the first half, that Villa scored their first goal while Spurs had ten men because of an injury, and that two late goals showed what the players can do when they play with freedom. That would have given them something positive and credible to take into the next match. Rejecting that responsibility raises doubts about whether he has the qualities to pull Spurs out of this slump.
Breakdown: Towards 1 · SQAs 1 · Adversity 0 · Identity 1 · Path 0 · Good Loser* 0
Source: Tottenham Hotspur’s full written press-conference transcript.
Matchweek 6
Manchester United 1–1 Tottenham Hotspur
Saturday 10 October 2026, Old Trafford, Manchester.
Roberto De Zerbi, Tottenham Hotspur: 12/12
Identity level: Belonging and Purpose.
I kissed Rodrigo and I said thanks, because it’s clear – it’s a mistake from Rodrigo, because it’s not the right reaction in football, but now Tottenham needs to react. Sometimes the reactions are not nice, not positive for the team, but I think in that moment, in 10 players, maybe we played with more courage, we played with more energy and we changed the game, and from a long time Tottenham played without this blood, this character. Now I am the coach and I want to see this character every game, because Manchester United in the second half showed character. Not just with the quality we can win the game, with the qualities, with the character, with the right energy, I think we are going to win many games, and we are going to score many goals.
Yeah, because we have to build the team. Now the target is to build the team, not the group of the players. We are a great group of players, but we are not a team yet. Today, this game, we show to be a team. To be a team is to play for the team-mates, suffer together, attack together, defend together, the players who come inside five minutes, three minutes, like Mateus Ferdandes, they have to play like they are in the first 11, without problems, without other faults. We have to find the balance between the confidence in ourselves and to be hungry in the training and in the games.
To stay together, yes. To work together, to stay together, to go for dinner together, to know better each other, because to be a team you have to know the team-mates, to stay together.
He kissed the player who’d just been sent off and thanked him, then called it a mistake in the same sentence. Everything in the answer is pointed at what Tottenham are going to be. The red card stays Bentancur’s one moment. What came out of it, the blood and the character, is what he wants every week from now on. Manchester United get credit for showing the same thing. And we are not a team yet is a hard thing to say about a squad that cost this much, and it works because he says what being a team means straight afterwards: suffer together, and the lad who comes on for three minutes plays like he started.
Breakdown: Towards 2 · SQAs 2 · Adversity 2 · Identity 2 · Path 2 · Draw Leadership 2 · 12/12
Source: Tottenham Hotspur.
Matchweek 8
Tottenham Hotspur 3 – 1 Coventry City
Monday 19 October 2026, 8.00pm, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Carried into this edition from the Monday of the previous scoring week.
Roberto De Zerbi, Tottenham Hotspur
Score: 10/12. Identity level: Belonging and Capability.
Delighted for the result, delighted for the attitude, the spirit, the reaction we show after the goal we conceded. Honestly, we didn’t play so well like the last games, even we didn’t win, but in the last game we played better, much better. better than today, but not for our responsibility for their credits, because they defend, especially in the first half, very close, very compact, and we didn’t find the right space to stay between the line. When we went outside from Kudus and Robertson, we didn’t push the ball with the right speed. We were too predictable maybe playing three at the back. We played three at the back for the injuries reasons, first of all, but I thought it was a good solution to give different instruction, this different occupation of the space was important. Maybe we play like this next Saturday, but we have to see.
Listen, we play with Kudus, right winger, Robertson, left winger because he played in the winger position with three, number 10, different characteristics. Marmouche, more attacker. Maddison, more number 10. and Gray in the right pocket to attack the space to go in underlapping to Kudus. I think we scored two goals with these two players but we can’t forget Solanke because he played very well also.
Fantastic moment, fantastic human moment. We celebrate him in the dressing room after the game. the most important things after this win.
No, now we have to understand we are able to win because After two, three seasons like this, it’s important that the mental aspect is crucial. The mental aspect, we have to say thanks for the fans, because especially in the last part of this game, they have been fantastic. They suffer a lot and we have to push, we have to work seriously, we have to improve the performance. We have to improve the quality of the play, for sure, but we are a good team, we are a very good team.
De Zerbi has just won, yet he still says they did not play well. By saying this and noting that they played better last week, he is showing the team some tough love. He is demanding a higher level while making it clear they can do it, because they have already played at that standard before.
He puts the poor performance down to Coventry being compact rather than anything his own players did wrong, so the problem sits outside the group, and he keeps it to the one thing they got wrong: pushing the ball too slowly.
The spirit is there. After the match the group celebrated Kulusevski’s return from a long injury together before they talked about the result. That is about them, it is broad, and it lasts. With those comments he has used the whole of the Elevate Formula.
What is missing is a clear aim. Telling them to improve the performance and the quality of the play is true enough, but it gives the players nothing specific to work towards.
Source: BBC Sport match report.
Chelsea 0 – 2 Tottenham Hotspur
Saturday 24 October 2026, 5.30pm, Stamford Bridge.
Roberto De Zerbi, Tottenham Hotspur
Score: 11/12. Identity level: Belonging and Purpose. Second assessed interview of this edition.
I think we deserve to win. The players, they work it very well. They prepare very well the game this morning, yesterday, all days in this week, in the last week. and the qualities of the players are very, very clear. So I’m happy for the spirit of the group, the spirit of the players. I think we have to change the last part of the history of our club, and I would like to follow in this way.
football is the ball okay is the quality of the play for sure is the qualities of the players for sure but it’s a competition it’s a fight it’s a you have to run, you have to fight, you have to arrive first in the second ball, you have to win the duel, and we did.
We knew Chelsea played very well. well. They have a clear organisation, clear structure on the pitch. We prepare two players to our midfielder with James Maddison with freedom to go where he smell the right position
Yeah, he played very well until he was off the pitch and then Gallagher played with different characteristics, different style, but played anyway very well. James is a different player. He feels football, he understands football is easier for me to be a coach. when you have a player of this talent.
I think it’s not a big problem. We have to see in these days, and also, Mathys Tell hasn’t scored many goals but showed his quality today. Mathys needs to play to understand football, to become calmer. But he’s a big talent.
I think it’s important for the players to believe more in themselves because their qualities are very high. But we are happy for the fans first of all, because we know what it means, the derby with Chelsea and for the club as well, because in the last years they suffered like the fans and they believe in this project, they believe in this group and I’m happy for them.
Yeah, with Tottenham, of course.
De Zerbi puts the win down to the work rather than to himself. The players prepared well all week, and their quality, he says, is very clear. The suffering he talks about belongs to the last few years and to the supporters, not to this group of players, and he tells them what he wants in its place: to change the last part of the club’s history.
The standard is simple and he spells it out. It is a competition, so they run, they fight, they get to the second ball first and they win the duel. They did all four.
Maddison going off is handled the same way. Gallagher came on with different qualities and played well too.
De Zerbi started the season badly and his scores have climbed steadily since. The question now is whether he is only a Good Winner. We will find out when a defeat hurts.
Source: BBC Sport match report.
Matchweek 9
Tottenham Hotspur 2 – 0 Crystal Palace
Saturday 31 October 2026, 5.30pm, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London.
Roberto De Zerbi, Tottenham Hotspur
Score: 9/12. Identity level: Belonging & Purpose.
Roberto, congratulations, three wins in a row. What did you like most about the performance today?
The passion we showed, anyway, we didn’t lose the focus, the concentration. We made an incredible reaction when we lost the ball. We could score more goals, but anyway, we created many, many chances. I think we have to be more nastiness, especially in the last third of the pitch, especially in the last decision, especially in the finishing. But I’m very happy because I knew before the game the tough game we could play today. The red card obviously changed things and Crystal Palace wanted to defend a lot and deep.
That makes things quite tricky sometimes, doesn’t it?
Well, I don’t agree because I think for them nothing changed, okay, they played in 10 players and I think it’s always better for us playing against 10 players and not 11, but as a behavioural, as a plan of the game, I think nothing changed. And for that I knew before the game, we prepared this game in a different way than Chelsea, for example, because the game against Chelsea, you go to play in 80 metres, 90 metres, man to man. Today we played in 5 metres, in small, small spaces and to be good in small spaces, you have to stay focused, you have to make not too many mistakes, because otherwise you lose the ball and you can see the counter-attack and I think also I’m pleased for the performance for this moment, for this reason.
So, clearly, tactically and technically your players are getting it, but the main thing must be the mood that three wins brings, just how important is that?
Listen, we are Tottenham, so we can’t forget to be ambitious, to be hungry, to win games in a row and to make our fans happy. And at the same time, we can’t forget two weeks ago, where we have been last on the table, so I think to change the last two seasons, three seasons, four seasons, I don’t know, of this club, I think three games in a row are not enough, we have to keep this behaviour, this spirit, this condition to prepare every game in the same way.
I understand you want more and you want more wins, but can you give us a bit of insight into how you turned this around?
Because even the start of the season wasn’t fresh, you know, it could carry on from the previous couple of seasons.
Going into the international break, you still hadn’t won. What happened?
Well, I think even before the national break, we were playing well, not 90 minutes, not with this behaviour, no, with this union between the players. After the national break, we spoke together, honestly, and we decided to change the mood quickly because time in football, you can’t ask time, especially if you have a very good player like we have. I think nothing changed, but the mood, the spirit, the relationship with the players now are totally different.
Three league wins in a row, and De Zerbi will not let anyone enjoy the table. We are Tottenham, so be ambitious and hungry, and at the same time don’t forget being bottom of it a fortnight ago. Three in a row are not enough to change what this club has been for three or four seasons. There is a real standard in that, and he is precise about the gap as well: the last third, the last decision and the finishing.
The problem is how much of it is Away From. Don’t forget where we were. Don’t take stupid risks. Don’t make too many mistakes in small spaces. Not enough, not enough, not enough. Even in a week when everything has gone right, a squad hearing that is being pointed at what to avoid rather than at what to go and get, and it puts a ceiling on how far he can lift them. He names no player either, so the qualities he does credit, the passion, the focus and the concentration, belong to nobody in particular and nobody can take one home as theirs.
Source: Tottenham Hotspur.
What links this league table to a life-or-death negotiation?
A young mother. Her children asleep in the back of the car. A hosepipe connected to the exhaust. A police negotiator with three seconds to find the words that might save their lives.
That call is where The 7 Skills to impress™ began.
When I listen to a manager after a match, I listen for the message beneath the words. A manager can be talking about a win or a loss, but the way they frame it can lift or chip away at a player’s belief before anyone even realises it.
Read Three Seconds to Save Their Lives: Jacqui’s Story and find out what he said.