Tottenham Hotspur’s head coach Roberto De Zerbi did not hide his disappointment after his side suffered a 3-0 defeat to Brentford in the opening match of the Premier League season. The Italian manager said the loss highlighted that the newly assembled squad is "still not a team" despite the massive summer investment that has pushed the club’s spending beyond the £300 million threshold. De Zerbi explained that the players lacked the fighting spirit required to compete at the highest level and that the side was simply under‑prepared for its first competitive test.
His comments were echoed by former England international Jamie Redknapp, who described the Spurs lineup as a "team of strangers" that had not yet developed the cohesion needed to win matches. The summer transfer window has been busy for Tottenham. Negotiations are ongoing for Manchester City duo Savinho and Omar Marmoush, and five of the six new signings were included in the starting eleven against Brentford. Yet the Bees took full advantage of the Spurs’ disorganisation, delivering a performance that underlined the club’s recent history of finishing 17th in back‑to‑back seasons before narrowly escaping relegation on the final day of last year’s campaign.
In his post‑match briefing, De Zerbi was candid: "We are not a team yet for many reasons. Until we become a team we cannot define what we are capable of.
Our physical condition is not where it should be, and the players arrived late after the World Cup because our pre‑season tour in Australia did not allow us to prepare properly. We are not making excuses – this is the normal situation when you are building a new project and a new process. I don’t want more time, but we have to get through these growing‑pains." He continued, "I have faith in my players, in the club, and in myself. After the Hoffenheim friendly last week I already warned that we were behind schedule for the start of the Premier League, but this is a step forward and we must improve quickly.
We could have fought harder today. We lost too many duels, made too many timing errors when trying to increase pressure, and failed to win a single second ball, duel or tackle. It was a painful lesson." De Zerbi stressed that the priority now is to forge a genuine collective identity.
"You cannot create a team simply by signing players during a transfer window. A team is built when the individuals find a connection, develop a shared spirit and discover a collective soul – it is a process, not a transaction." Redknapp’s criticism was equally blunt: "You could call them a team of strangers – they didn’t show the extra know‑how when Jan Paul Van Hecke and Marcos Senesi tried to work together.
They never won enough duels. I wasn’t impressed with the line‑up; I didn’t see the creativity I expected from Conor Gallagher in the number 10 role. The hope is that Spurs will look different in six weeks, but today they missed the fundamentals needed to win a match." Looking ahead, Tottenham will try to bounce back in the Carabao Cup second round when they host Championship side Charlton Athletic on Wednesday, followed by a Premier League clash with Newcastle United on Saturday. De Zerbi believes these fixtures will provide an opportunity to showcase the quality he knows his squad possesses.
"We have to become a team, and that requires two essential ingredients: a soul and a style of play. Today we lacked both. When we find those, we will become dangerous for any opponent.
Until then we must endure the growing‑pain, and perhaps this defeat will make us stronger," the manager added. The match also saw a tactical substitution at halftime when 20‑year‑old Lucas Bergvall, who had contributed to Brentford’s second goal, was replaced by veteran midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur.
De Zerbi admitted he expected the young midfielder to struggle against Brentford’s physicality, but also acknowledged that Bentancur was not fully fit to start the game. "Bergvall didn’t play badly, but I knew he would lose that ball in that moment. In the next two years he will improve and stop making that mistake," De Zerby said. He went on to outline the defensive changes from last season: "Last season’s back line was Pedro Porro, Kevin Danso, Micky van de Ven and Destiny Udogie.
Today we fielded Archie Gray, JP Van Hecke, Marcos Senesi and Andy Robertson – four new faces. In midfield we moved from Bentancur and Joao Palhinha to Bergvall and Tonali.
Bentancur missed pre‑season, which is why he started on the bench." Despite the heavy loss, De Zerbi tried to put a positive spin on the experience. "Even though we suffered a defeat, it is a shock that can wake us up. We are better than we showed today. From Wednesday onward we can demonstrate our qualities and who we truly are.
Winning the next games will not instantly make us a team, but it will be a step in the right direction." The match also featured a historic moment for Spurs: 20‑year‑old Archie Gray captained the side, becoming the youngest ever player to wear the armband in a competitive fixture for Tottenham. Gray took the role because regular captain Micky van de Ven was unavailable.
In a post‑match interview, Gray echoed the manager’s assessment, saying, "We lost too many duels. Brentford simply out‑fought us across the pitch.
We need to review the footage and improve our aggression. The fans were amazing, and it hurts to let them down in the first game. There are no words to describe the disappointment." In summary, De Zerbi’s message was clear: the club has invested heavily, but the pieces are not yet fitting together. The manager expects a period of adjustment, during which the team will learn to communicate, develop a shared identity, and improve both the defensive solidity and attacking creativity that have been missing so far.
The upcoming cup and league fixtures will serve as early tests of whether Tottenham can translate the financial outlay into on‑field cohesion and, ultimately, results.