Spurs boss De Zerbi shrugs off criticism of win over weakened Villa

LONDON: Tottenham manager Roberto De Zerbi said he had no qualms about profiting from Aston Villa’s weakened team after criticism of a vital win in his club’s fight to avoid relegation.

De Zerbi’s side won 2-1 at much-changed Villa last weekend after Unai Emery rested his key players to prioritise their Europa League semi-final against Nottingham Forest.

Villa’s lacklustre performance sparked debate about their influence on the relegation dogfight, with Tottenham moving out of the Premier League relegation zone after West Ham’s defeat at Brentford 24 hours earlier.

But De Zerbi said Tottenham’s injury crisis, which has robbed the Italian of several key players, made Villa’s switches irrelevant.

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“I can say one thing, we played without (Cristian) Romero, (Dejan) Kulusevski, (Mohammed) Kudus, (Dominic) Solanke, Xavi Simons, (James) Maddison and maybe more players than Villa,” he told reporters on Thursday.

“It is better if the people speak about us than we speak about them.

“In Italy we are used to thinking in the bad way about this situation but it is not true. It is not true.”

Fourth-bottom Tottenham are one point above third-bottom West Ham with three games left in the survival battle.

With Tottenham not in action until Monday’s visit from Leeds, they would drop back into the relegation zone if West Ham beat league leaders Arsenal on Sunday.

But a defeat for West Ham would present Tottenham with a chance to open a potentially decisive four-point lead over Nuno Espirito Santo’s men.

After hosting Leeds, De Zerbi’s team travel to London rivals Chelsea on May 19 before finishing their season at home to Everton on May 24.

“First of all we are playing against one of the best teams in the league, in this moment,” said De Zerbi, who has led Tottenham to victories in their last two matches.

“In the last five or six games, Leeds won against Manchester United, they drew in Bournemouth playing well. For that we have a big respect.

“We can’t think in a different way. We have to keep this mentality. We must remain humble. Nothing has changed. We have to prepare for an important game.

“We have to focus on this type of game, with this type of attitude, spirit and showing the qualities of the players.”

De Zerbi confirmed goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario remains sidelined after hernia surgery, with striker Dominic Solanke unlikely to recover from a hamstring injury in time to face Leeds.