Cristian Stellini has hailed Roberto De Zerbi for the job he has done with Brighton.
Tottenham host the Seagulls on Saturday amid links with De Zerbi as a full-time replacement for Antonio Conte.
A win for Brighton would take them one point behind Spurs with two games in hand in the battle for Champions League qualification.
Both Spurs and Chelsea have been linked with a move for De Zerbi, although the Blues are now expected to look elsewhere.
The Italian has built on the work done by Graham Potter on the south coast, bringing goals to the team and leading them into the FA Cup semi-finals.
Stellini has been placed in temporary charge of Spurs until the end of the season and began his short stint in disappointing fashion on Monday.
His team dropped two points at Everton despite leading during the closing stages of the game and now face a fight to make it into the top four.
Of De Zerbi, Stellini said: “They [Brighton] are well prepared when you start to press them, they find a way to overcome your pressure.
“They are well positioned, they plan a match in the right way, they have many solutions also and they adapt themselves when you change something because they came from a good job that [Graham] Potter did with them.
“ I think De Zerbi found a good solution to play with his style because that team came with Potter and they know themselves very well.
