Roberto De Zerbi future: Tottenham manager sent 10-game sack warning as Spurs fears grow

Tottenham Hotspur manager Roberto De Zerbi has been warned that failure to turn Spurs' fortunes around in 10 games could lead to him being sacked from his position.

Heading into Saturday's Premier League clash with Aston Villa, Tottenham are one of just five teams without a top-flight win in the current season, and just one of two without a goal alongside basement side Coventry City.

Spurs have drawn blanks against all of Everton, Nottingham Forest, Brentford and Newcastle United, amassing just two points in the process and becoming only the second Premier League team to fail to score in their opening four games of a season, after the 2017-18 Crystal Palace team.

That Eagles side sacked Frank de Boer in the early weeks of the season, but Tottenham committed to a long-term project with De Zerbi, who signed a five-year contract upon his arrival towards the end of last season.

However, speaking exclusively to Sports Mole, former Tottenham defender Alan Hutton warned De Zerbi that Premier League managers risk being given the boot if they cannot mastermind a revival in 10 games.

"The expectation of the club and the fans to challenge at the top end of the table and in the latter stages of cup competitions will always be there," Hutton said. "They need to be competing for silverware and challenging in European competitions.

"They’ve finished 17th two seasons in a row now. It hasn’t been good enough for the past few years. Despite that, the same expectations will still be there moving forward.

"There has been huge investment into the club and a lot of new faces have come in, so I think they need time to become a top team again. They have a good squad and shouldn’t be sitting down near the bottom of the table.

"That said, Roberto De Zerbi needs to get the best out of this squad and he needs to do it fairly quickly. If he doesn’t and they continue to be down the bottom end of the table, then questions will be asked.

"You only have to look at what life is like for Premier League managers now. In some cases you get 10 games to put things right and if it doesn’t work out then you’re gone. De Zerbi has to improve this team sooner rather than later."

Unlike predecessors Thomas Frank and Igor Tudor, De Zerbi began the new season with credit in the bank, having staved off an unthinkable relegation to the Championship with Tottenham last season.

The Lilywhites forking out millions like never before in the transfer market was also a clear indication of how much the hierarchy believe in the Italian's project, one which the club knew was not going to weave its magic overnight.

While De Zerbi is not entirely blameless for Spurs' struggles this season - especially defensively against Brentford and Newcastle - fans cannot point the finger at their coach for their players' failures to put the ball in the back of the net.

Furthermore, De Zerbi has been working with depleted creative ranks owing to the injuries suffered by Xavi Simons, Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison, the former of whom could now be fit to start against Villa.

Therefore, the former Brighton & Hove Albion boss has only a mild amount of pressure on his shoulders at this moment, but that will increase exponentially if Spurs still find themselves in the bottom half come late October.

Alan Hutton was speaking to Sports Mole on behalf of NetBet Sport.

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