Tottenham CEO Vinai Venkatesham has reaffirmed his confidence in Roberto De Zerbi despite the club sitting rock bottom of the Premier League table.
Spurs are winless from their opening five league games this season and were dumped out of the Carabao Cup by Liverpool last month.
After spending in excess of £300million over the summer, De Zerbi’s side have yet to get going, enduring the club’s worst start to a Premier League season after five games.
Despite the promise of a new era, Spurs have shown familiar frailties this season, with injuries piling up and players struggling to adapt after a disrupted pre-season.
Speaking at the Fan Advisory Board meeting at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last week, though, Venkatesham insisted he remained confident that De Zerbi will turn things around and added that he had seen signs of improvement since Spurs were comprehensively beaten 3-0 by Brentford on the opening weekend.
"Vinai Venkatesham expressed confidence in Roberto De Zerbi, in the players brought in and in the changes made, noting the considerable work underway behind the scenes," the recently published minutes stated.
"The club had made significant changes over the summer, both on and off the pitch, and recognised that these might take time to take full effect. Venkatesham was encouraged by aspects of the underlying performances since the opening day defeat but acknowledged the disappointment at the current points total even at this early point in the season and recognised the frustration this caused supporters following the previous campaign.
"Supporter backing, home and away, had been excellent and was not taken for granted. He acknowledged that the club must earn supporters’ belief through results."
Spurs underwent a substantial squad overhaul during the summer, bringing in 10 new signings and allowing key first-team players Cristian Romero, Guglielmo Vicario and Djed Spence to depart.
The scale of turnover at the club has inevitably led to a period of adaptation, but Venkatesham insists that despite Spurs’ struggles on the pitch, the squad has been strengthened.
"The window had involved approximately 35 first-team transactions (incomings, outgoings and renewals). The squad had been strengthened with a focus on quality, character and physical robustness, combining Premier League experience with younger players able to develop with the club,” the minutes continued.
"The contract renewals of Micky van de Ven and Pedro Porro reflected the belief of two senior players in the club’s direction. The objective remained a squad able to compete at the level supporters expect."
Given Spurs’ summer spending and the fact the club has not made a profit since 2019, Venkatesham admits there is greater stress on ensuring they remain in line with the Premier League and UEFA’s profit and sustainability rules.
He adds that it is therefore important to maximise revenue from the club’s stadium if the club is to eventually re-establish itself in European competition.
"Venkatesham explained that financial regulation represented a genuine constraint. The club had not recorded a profit since 2019, and its costs were rising through investment in the men’s team in wages and transfer fees.
"He noted that successive 17th-place finishes and the absence of European revenue this season had also affected the club's revenue position.
"The club monitored itself against the Premier League rules (squad cost of up to 85% of revenue). The UEFA rules are more restrictive - 70% of squad cost, together with a three-year profitability test - and remained relevant to the club's ambition of returning to European competition.
"Venkatesham said that growing commercial income, including through concerts and other stadium events, was therefore important in creating additional capacity for football investment within the applicable financial rules. He reiterated that football remained the club's clear priority."
