De Zerbi: Brighton Players Are Like My Children, But I Want to Win Tomorrow

Roberto De Zerbi will be aiming for his first victory as Tottenham manager tomorrow. Ironically, this could come against his former club, Brighton. The Italian spoke about his deep affection for his former players, whom he considers like his own children, but nonetheless hopes his new team secures a win and potentially climbs out of the relegation zone, where they currently reside.

"Brighton is a special place for me, as is Marseille. A magical place. The Brighton players are like children to me because we had a very close relationship. I have great memories, but I want to win tomorrow. Fabian is a great coach and is doing very well. I love my former players.

I am positive, I am ready to fight. I believe we will retain our place in the Premier League. I believe in what I said last week. I don't know if we can win tomorrow, but I hope we can. It's extremely important to win, not just for the standings. We need to feel again how good it is to win a match. I have no doubt about the quality of the players.

To be a strong team, we need many leaders. Of course, Maddison is different. He's a top player with the ball, but also in terms of character and mentality. I don't know when he will return to play. I don't want to push him too hard, as that's how we lost Kudus. I'm used to waiting until players are fully available. It's better to lose another game than to lose another player," the Italian stated at his press conference today.

De Zerbi confirmed that Guglielmo Vicario remains sidelined after undergoing hernia surgery during the international break. However, Rodrigo Bentancur and Yves Bissouma are available for selection.