Roberto De Zerbi said Tottenham must stay hungry before hosting Crystal Palace at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday. The London derby comes with Spurs looking to build on consecutive Premier League victories.
De Zerbi sets out the target
The Tottenham Hotspur manager said in his pre-match press conference: "We have not achieved our goal. We want to make our fans happy, not now, at the end of the season."
He added: "Now we have to push, we have to stay focused, we have to increase the spirit, the appetite to win games in a row... The step of this club is to win games in a row and to be angry day by day, game by game, win by win. One time or two times are not enough."
Maddison available for Saturday
De Zerbi said James Maddison is available against Crystal Palace.
He said: "James is available. He is a special player for us, a special player because he has unique characteristics, different than everyone."
De Zerbi also said Maddison had recovered sufficiently to feature against Palace despite managing his training load.
Tel praised by manager
Addressing Mathys Tel's progress, De Zerbi said: "I'm proud and happy, but first of all for him, because I love working for the players, to improve the players."
He added: "Mathys is working very hard. He's a smart guy. He has a big, big potential. His improvement, I think, is making the decision, the last decision."
Words on Pierre Sage
Reflecting on the opposition, De Zerbi said: "I know very well Pierre Sage. He is a very good coach... It is not easy to play in three competitions, because they are playing in the Premier League, in the European League and in Carabao Cup."
