Are Tottenham destined for relegation?

Q: Why is Tottenham facing relegation this season?

Tottenham is facing relegation due to a series of poor performances and a lack of a cohesive playing style, which has left them in the bottom three of the league.

Q: Who is the current head coach of Tottenham?

The current head coach of Tottenham is Roberto De Zerbi, who was appointed during a challenging phase of the season.

Q: What are the consequences of Tottenham's recent defeats?

Recent defeats have increased Tottenham's relegation probabilities and raised doubts about their ability to improve under the new coaching staff.

Q: How many head coaches has Tottenham had in the last year?

Tottenham has had four different head coaches in the last 12 months, highlighting instability within the club.

Many of Tottenham's biggest issues were self-diagnosed by Roberto De Zerbi during his first game in charge. Spurs had fallen into the bottom three before travelling to Sunderland and their performance in defeat did nothing to strengthen belief they can climb out of it.

Appointing De Zerbi at this juncture of an already calamitous campaign was a high-stakes gamble. Some might argue that keeping Igor Tudor on would have been riskier still. But whoever the head coach - De Zerbi is Spurs' fourth of the last 12 months - the same problems seem to persist.

Tottenham do not have a style to speak of. Perhaps that was part of the enigmatic Italian's appeal. De Zerbi clearly offers philosophy, a distinctive way of playing, and as evidenced by his time at Brighton, a high ceiling of performance level.

The complication is that this Spurs side in its current configuration is not capable of delivering against De Zerbi's plans. That much was evident at Sunderland. Nordi Mukiele's heavily-deflected effort was the nail in the coffin of a tepid offering and now the narrative has descended into analysis of increasing relegation probabilities.

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What felt like an impossibly shocking consequence of severe underperformance, that had the power to goad but lacked genuine substance, now feels very probable indeed. One point from a possible 24 is desperate.

Spurs' 14-match winless Premier League run is their worst since 1935. They are increasingly compelling contenders for the drop. Perhaps, as Jamie Carragher hypothesised on Super Sunday, a more convincing case than those around them given recent form and confidence levels.

De Zerbi explained in his first press conference that he had had little time to implement his tactical ideas to face Sunderland, prioritising "character, the right spirit and the right courage to play". Barring a bright opening 10 minutes, Spurs were devoid of all three.

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Something can at least be made of the theory behind De Zerbi's set-up, if not the implementation.

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Jamie Carragher believes Tottenham Hotspur are heading for relegation after their defeat to Sunderland with the remaining fixtures they have this season

He packed central areas with legs and energy as Conor Gallagher and Lucas Bergvall played ahead of Archie Gray - with sound intention - but in trying to dominate the ball they contrived to lose the battle.

Granit Xhaka, Noah Sadiki and Habib Diarra proved a far more accomplished trio. Xhaka controlled the tempo; his touch count (85) was the highest of any player on the park and he generated a game-high 16 passes into the final third.

Sunderland goalkeeper Robin Roefs actually played more final-third passes (nine) than all three of Tottenham's midfielders.

Out of possession the hosts were far superior, too, winning more tackles, successfully contesting more duels and making a greater number of interceptions. Spurs were able to land seven shots on target but only one of those was deemed a big chance and that was fluffed by Dominic Solanke.

Full-back Pedro Porro was the best hope of open-play threat. That does not reflect well on Spurs' attacking contingent.

De Zerbi is an ideas man but he is chronically short of fit creators. One must therefore question the decision to leave Xavi Simons in reserve on Sunday; the Dutchman was only introduced with six minutes remaining. Is that enough time to impact a game Spurs had trailed since the hour mark?

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This six-game gauntlet will be decided by decisions such as that. The situational severity means they must be right.

Spurs' new custodian will have had two weeks to get to grips with his playing squad by the time former employers Brighton visit the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday evening. He will not have lavish means by which to beat the side he guided to sixth place in 2022/23, but there are tangible improvements to be made.

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Spurs have to start on the front foot to face this crisis head on. The north Londoners are winless in each of their last 32 Premier League games after going behind - only eight of those were draws. They have only spent 18.3 per cent of games in winning positions all season.

It has been nearly four months since they last tasted victory in the league, long enough to have forgotten exactly what that feels like or how it is achieved, but whatever the variables this weekend Tottenham must find a way to win.

Image: Roberto De Zerbi consoles Destiny Udogie after defeat at Sunderland

They must draw from the well of relegation fear with greater effectiveness, especially in moments of misfortune. Games simply escape Tottenham too easily after they suffer a setback and it was no surprise to see Mukiele's effort that cannoned cruelly off the leg of Micky van de Ven be enough to settle Sunday's contest.

That is how fragile Spurs are.

No time for despondence, though. Survival scraps do not entertain sentiment. Theoretically this is a team of good players, now it is up to De Zerbi to get them performing with the strength of character to prove it.

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