Roberto De Zerbi took a moment of levity at his post-match press conference after Tottenham secured their top-flight status on the final day, playfully calling out a journalist he felt had been overly pessimistic about Spurs’ chances.
The win — a 1-0 victory over Everton courtesy of João Palhinha’s first-half strike — was enough to keep Tottenham up, with West Ham joining Burnley and Wolves in dropping to the Championship. Scenes of jubilation followed at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Before addressing the media, De Zerbi paused and asked for a specific reporter who regularly covered the club’s training sessions, describing him as someone who had been downbeat while De Zerbi had tried to stay upbeat. He made clear he wanted to embrace the man rather than argue with him, adding that he had no fight left in him. The two shook hands, and De Zerbi smiled and asked if he was happy, receiving congratulations in return. Afterwards, the journalist defended his approach, saying his role was to ask difficult questions rather than offer reassurance.
Speaking with a glass of red wine in hand once the dust had settled, De Zerbi said he was proud of how a squad ravaged by injuries had dug in during a difficult period. However, he was equally clear that the club could not afford to find itself in such a precarious position again — a sentiment echoed by defender Micky van de Ven, who had called the situation embarrassing.
De Zerbi argued Tottenham merited survival on merit, pointing to 11 points gathered from their last seven matches, and insisted that planning for next season needed to begin immediately. While he felt a core group of 10 to 12 players were good enough to build on, he stressed the squad needed strengthening at the top end of the market.
He also paid tribute to the supporters, who had turned out in large numbers to welcome the team bus before a match that carried enormous stakes, and promised to give them more to cheer about next season. His ambition, he said, was to reach a point where Spurs were competing for something meaningful — and where no one had to endure another season of such prolonged anxiety.
