In the fourth round of the Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur drew 0-0 with Everton at home. After the match, Tottenham Hotspur head coach De Zerbi was interviewed by Sky Sports.

This is a difficult time for you, for the players, for the fans, and for the entire club. How would you evaluate...

No, this is not a difficult time at all. I interrupted you because this is by no means a difficult time. Last season, away at Sunderland, when we were fighting a relegation battle, that was a difficult time. Now is certainly not a normal period, but it is also a necessary stage in football – when you are in the process of rebuilding a team, and when you started late. Because we only truly started gelling with Maddison, Savio, Solanke and these players last Thursday, two weeks ago.

I think we played very well in the first 30 minutes of the game, but then perhaps due to our physical condition not being at its best, the whole team lacked stamina, and we are working hard to improve that. In terms of the tactical quality we showed on the pitch, we had too few shots. We must threaten the goal more. We entered Everton's penalty area 74 times, but created far too few clear-cut scoring opportunities, which does not fully reflect the tactical level we displayed in the match. Without a doubt, we must redouble our efforts. We must carefully review our final pass and decision-making because we made too many wrong choices in the attacking third. But I think the whole team played well today.

A lot of key information can be extracted from your answer. Let's first talk about the players' physical condition. Is the lack of physical fitness due to many players having too little time to integrate with the team, as you said, or are you facing other issues that need to be addressed in preparation?

No, because the World Cup only ended recently, and many players in the squad participated in the World Cup; that's the objective reality. We also suffered two or three injuries: Fernandes and Micky van de Ven, who was injured in Australia and couldn't participate in normal training sessions beforehand. And Solanke's injury as well. But I am neither blindly optimistic nor pessimistically negative now; I am pragmatic. I think if a team can play at such a high level as it did in the first 30 minutes, it shows that everyone is fully capable of playing beautiful football. What we need to do now is to gradually extend these wonderful 30 minutes to 60 minutes, 65 minutes, 70 minutes, 80 minutes, and even the full 90 minutes. And in the final 25 meters, we must maintain a high degree of focus. Because today... if we had scored and won the game, everyone would be discussing a completely different match now, especially from your perspective.

This is the first time in Tottenham Hotspur's history that they have failed to score in four consecutive league games to start the season. The club has invested heavily in attacking players, some of whom were signed during my tenure and some before I arrived. How frustrating is it to look at the list of attackers in the squad and still have no goals after 360 minutes of Premier League football?

I am not a journalist, and I don't write articles on social media. I am just a head coach. My job is to evaluate the team's performance, uncover the qualities of my players, and carefully analyze the attacking opportunities – where we could have shot, where we could have scored, and where we should have made better decisions.

You have frequently mentioned the word "courage" in your recent press conferences. Do your forwards need to show more courage, stronger belief, and more decisiveness in front of goal?

No, I want to highlight something very important. The team played very dominantly in the first 30 minutes, but we failed to break the deadlock. I think from that moment on, the players' confidence began to waver and was even greatly affected. This is an important issue that we must face now. For most of the second half, I observed that the players on the field lacked confidence, and this is what I am not satisfied with. Of course, they shouldn't be happy about not winning and not scoring, but they should have the confidence to believe and see clearly that we are on the right track.

What do you think is the root cause of this lack of confidence? Because you are naturally an extremely positive, self-confident person who habitually leads from the front. Why can't the players keep up with the momentum you show?

Because players are human; they have sensitive minds, real emotional fluctuations, and they think with their own brains, not mine when they play. My job is to stand here to help them and guide them to focus all their attention on the details that need to be improved. Because if we can play with the same quality as in the first 30 minutes for the entire 90 minutes, I believe we can win most of our games.

Is there a disconnect between what you see at the training ground during the week and what we see on the pitch on match day?

Absolutely not. What I saw on the pitch today is exactly this group of players under me, especially in the first 30 minutes.

One last question – it's never easy for either the head coach or the players to hear boos from the home fans. What do you want to say to the fans who are showing frustration at the start of the season?

I am very sorry to the fans, and the whole team feels apologetic. They were fantastic throughout today, especially in the first half. When they saw the team playing exquisite football, pressing hard, and trying everything to score, the fans' emotions were completely aligned with the players on the field. That frustrated reaction at the end is human nature, isn't it? It's perfectly normal for fans to show emotion, and we must always express our gratitude for their support.

Will this goalless streak change? Are you confident that this goal drought will definitely pass?

My confidence? I just said it – I am a pragmatic person; I am neither negative nor blindly optimistic.

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