Roberto De Zerbi uses brutal remark to describe his Spurs players as footage of his full-time actions emerge
Spurs manager Roberto De Zerbi has branded his team as 'too fragile' after they suffered a 3-2 defeat at home to Aston Villa - with the Italian criticised for what he did after full-time.
Villa went 3-0 ahead through goals from Johan Manzambi, Nicolas Jackson and Emiliano Buendia to effectively end the game as a contest towards the end of the second half.
Spurs did score what proved to be two consolation goals late on through Conor Gallagher and Jan Paul van Hecke but the result was by then secure - and De Zerbi's actions post-match have got people talking.
Roberto De Zerbi called out over Spurs full-time decision
Rather than face the Spurs faithful after the match or speak to his players, De Zerbi walked straight down the tunnel after shaking hands with Aston Villa boss Unai Emery.
There was a scattering of boos among the home faithful at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after yet another match without victory.
Spurs could end the weekend bottom of the Premier League if both Fulham and Coventry pick up victories.
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The Italian was criticised by a number of fans online for his decision not to join his players in applauding the Spurs fans - even if a significant number of them had decided to leave with the score at 3-0 on 83 minutes.
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'Too fragile...' - De Zerbi reacts to Aston Villa defeat
"I think we could score in the first half many, many times," De Zerbi told TNT Sports post-match. "We concede the goal, but we had to stay more focused in defending that situation.
"In the second half, we concede a goal from the goal kick. Before that, we score an offside goal, and the third goal is a great goal from Buendia. We played well in the first half but we didn't score. But too fragile.
"If we didn't score, it's my responsibility. We've got to work harder. Football is like life - you are strong or you lose."
"I can't speak before my time, I can speak only on my work. Like I said, we have to improve the quality of the play, but be stronger, otherwise... the game is not 90 minutes in ball possession, 90 minutes in the last third. During the game, there are situations where we have to stay closer, we have to stay stronger, we have to defend better ball on ball. And we didn't, or we didn't in the right way."
Topics: Roberto De Zerbi, Tottenham Hotspur, Premier League, Aston Villa
Ryan Smart