Tottenham Hotspur suffered a 0-2 home defeat to Newcastle United in the Premier League's second round, recording back-to-back losses to start the season. After the match, Tottenham manager Roberto De Zerbi attended a press conference to address reporters' questions.

How frustrated were you with Tottenham's performance in the final third today? They entered good attacking areas multiple times but never seemed close to scoring.

No, I'm disappointed with the result and sorry to the fans and the atmosphere here. After two defeats, perhaps some people think history is repeating itself and that we've returned to the mediocrity of the last two seasons. I don't think that, and there's no doubt about it. Two defeats cannot change my mind. I have extreme confidence in our players' abilities. Ultimately, when we become one unit, chemistry improves between players, the quality of our play improves, our defensive strength improves, we shorten the distance between attackers, defenders, and midfielders, and we build a team—whether under my leadership or another manager's—the results will follow, because they are all excellent players.

I feel sorry for the club because they are building a great squad. But perhaps right now, for various reasons, we are not quite ready. There are many reasons we're not yet ready, but before we conceded the first goal today, I thought we played better than Newcastle United. Newcastle is a good team with an excellent manager and players, and everything about them is great, but we created more scoring chances, took more shots, and had higher possession than Newcastle. In a couple of dangerous moments in the first half, we struggled because there was too much distance between our attackers and defenders, allowing the opposition too much space. After conceding, we lost confidence, our immediate reaction wasn't good enough, and I don't think it was the kind of response I wanted to see on the pitch. I told the players right after the match. Because it's always difficult when creating something new. There will always be problems, and the key difference is how we plan to find solutions to these problems—and the solution is not to be discouraged but to fight back, because we still had 20 minutes left where we could have scored one, two, or even three goals.

So before the transfer window closes, would you like to sign another player in a specific position? Perhaps a striker?

No, we're only talking about today's match. It's not appropriate to discuss that today. Otherwise, it would sound like an excuse, and I don't need excuses or want to make them. What I want to say is that I'm now much more confident about our project than I was during the Brentford match. I believe in our players. I think Marmousse had a very good debut, and for Van de Ven and Pedro Poro it was also their first match. They returned late, but they're very important to this team after the World Cup and injuries. Sandro Tonali is another key player, and his physical condition is not yet optimal. He's been training with us since the start of preseason, but he may need to adapt physically. What I'm saying is, if I maintained a positive attitude last season when we were in a relegation battle (we were in the relegation zone when I first arrived), what do you think I'd be thinking now?

Can I ask you quickly about the squad? Hisalisson, Pape Matar Sarr, and Kevin De Bruyne didn't play today.

With Hisalisson, I'm not sure. He has expressed to me multiple times that he wants to leave. Kevin De Bruyne came to me two days ago and said he wants to leave. Pape Matar Sarr is in a similar situation, though he has a slight injury and is almost ready to return to training. Also, Savinho is another key player who couldn't play today. After yesterday's press conference, the medical team reported to me that Savinho isn't feeling well—just a minor muscle issue. Perhaps he can train with us again on Monday or Tuesday. But the medical team didn't want to take any risks with him, especially considering he hasn't had systematic training with Manchester City for the last 10 to 15 days.

What about Tonali? You've mentioned several times this season the team's mental resilience. Last week it felt like they were discouraged after conceding a goal. And today it was the same after conceding. Is mental strength the biggest issue right now?

Yes. Yes, absolutely correct. No doubt about it.

So how do you plan to improve it?

That's the biggest issue and the most difficult challenge and our core objective—finding the right mental resilience. Unfortunately, this mental resilience cannot be bought in the transfer market, nor can it be solved simply by assembling many players together. Football is amazing and magical, right? You can change many players in the transfer market and find balance immediately, but sometimes it takes more time. I believe we can achieve this goal, and we will complete this task. I hope to achieve it as soon as possible because it's very important to play well. But everything we're doing with the club's plan and project, and building and rebuilding a new team with new players, is a great plan and a great project. I firmly believe this project will eventually bear fruit. After this defeat, we must accept it and face it strongly, and then move forward. I think that if we had scored two goals in the second half today, everyone would be telling a completely different story right now. Unfortunately, we lost the match. There's an Italian saying: "Winners celebrate, losers explain." And right now, I'm explaining why.

But Roberto, what would you say to the players who said they want to leave? Is there still a path for them to come back?

I love these players very much. They're very good friends, and I have a good relationship with them. But if they want to leave, they must present the club with a reasonable solution—a financial solution. Then they can leave, and we will find other players.

One last question. You mentioned Tonali, and today was a particularly difficult match for him. I saw many Newcastle United fans booing him, and regarding the goal he conceded after being dribbled past—how disappointed were you?

No, I love Sandro Tonali. Today was a special day. The emotions I feel for the players today run deeper than usual because this is something we've built together—the club, Binay (Venkatesham), John Lange, the owner, and me. They're like our children. So today is a sad day. We're all very frustrated with this result, but we love the players more today than we will love the victory that will eventually come in the next match.

AI 번역.

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