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Roberto De Zerbi faces a first game in charge at Spurs (Owen Humphreys/PA Wire)

Roberto De Zerbi will take charge of his first of seven cup finals as Tottenham Hotspur manager today, beginning his reign at Sunderland as he tries to guide the club to safety in the Premier League.

De Zerbi took the reins following Igor Tudor’s winless 44-day reign of error, with Tottenham in the thick of a relegation battle. West Ham’s win over Wolves on Friday night means their London rivals start the day in the bottom three.

The Italian will need to flip the club’s fortunes and fast but it is not yet clear whether he has the complete backing of the fanbase due to his historic comments surrounding Mason Greenwood, controversy he did address in his first interview as Tottenham boss.

He will hope to justify the board’s decision to hand him a lucrative five-year contract swiftly but face tough opposition in Sunderland, who come into the clash off the high of a Tyne-Wear derby win at St James’s Park.

Tottenham players urged to follow example of Archie Gray in relegation battle

Tottenham’s senior players have been urged to follow the example of Archie Gray if the club are to avoid a first relegation in 49 years.

During a hugely disappointing season Gray has been a standout performer, and David Howells – who helped Tottenham avoid relegation twice in 1994 and 1997 – believes others must follow the lead of the 20-year-old ahead of Sunday’s trip to Sunderland.

“You definitely would hope that some of the older players would look across at Archie in the changing room and say, ‘look at this young man, he’s stepping up and it’s not fazing him, this is where we all need to be in terms of attitude and performance’. Yeah, absolutely he’s been the one consistent shining light,” Howells told the Press Association.

“I thought he was our best player again (against Nottingham Forest). I did say after the game against Atletico Madrid that he looked like an England midfielder, I did because he really looked the part.”

Archie Gray has been praised for his performances (PA Wire)

Luke Baker12 April 2026 13:20

The huge Roberto De Zerbi risk Tottenham are taking that could spell disaster

This is not a “vibes” appointment. It’s the complete opposite,” writes Will Castle.

Tottenham’s move for Roberto De Zerbi reflects the do-or-die situation they find themselves in, by the fact he could theoretically deliver either the miraculous best or cataclysmic worst case scenario for the club.

De Zerbi, on the surface, is a coup for a team verging on the most humiliating relegation in Premier League history. The Italian was a resounding success story at Brighton, arriving with an unknown quality to English football only to become one of the continent’s most sought-after managers by the end of his two-season stint, apparently earning admirers at Barcelona and Liverpool.

Tottenham must be attracted by De Zerbi’s free-flowing style of football. Traumatised by 44 days of Igor Tudor-ball, a footballing ideology bereft of inspiration, such a tactical revolution is needed and desired. Implementing that now, however, is a big risk.

Read Will’s full comment piece on the De Zerbi appointment:

The huge De Zerbi risk Tottenham are taking that could spell disaster

Tottenham cannot afford for their appointment of De Zerbi to prove ill-fated but the Italian is anything but a perfect match for the club in crisis, writes Will Castle

Luke Baker12 April 2026 12:24