Roberto De Zerbi 'unhappy' after 'hitting out at Tottenham players'

Roberto De Zerbi is already unhappy in his position as Tottenham Hotspur manager after a terrible start to the season.

Spurs are now winless and without a goal in three Premier League games following their 0-0 draw against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on 5 September.

Supporters have now begun to voice their frustrations towards the manager, his decisions, and their style of play with their patience being tested once again.

Former Tottenham scout Mick Brown told Football Insider that De Zerbi is "clearly unhappy" with his side's start to the season but must shoulder some of the blame.

This comes after the manager criticised his players' mentality and insisted there is still a lot of work to be done before they will see results moving in the right direction.

However, with the club attempting to turn around their fortunes following back-to-back 17th-place finishes, fans have little patience for continued excuses from the manager.

Could Tottenham sack Robert De Zerbi already?

Former Everton CEO Keith Wyness told Football Insider on 3 September that Tottenham are reluctant to sack De Zerbi after spending heavily in the summer transfer window.

Spurs spent over £300million on new players over the summer, something which has contibuted to the growing frustrations around the club given the lack of impact on the pitch.

With the fans becoming increasingly impatient and De Zerbi already expressing his frustrations in public, there is a feeling that things could go bad sooner rather than later.

"There is a lot of expectation on Roberto De Zerbi to turn around Tottenham's fortunes," Brown told Football Insider.

"To be honest, a lot of the blame has to be with the players, because this group has finished 17th twice in a row and a lot of those who have been instrumental to that are still there.

"There are clearly some major issues, but after spending the amount they did, you'd expect some of those issues to be resolved.

"The manager cannot go without blame, because if the team aren't playing well, aren't scoring goals and aren't getting results, he is the one who has to pick up the bill.

"I'm told he is already getting frustrated, because the expectations are high and he hasn't been able to live up to them, wherever he wants to put the blame for that situation.

"And when you listen to him speak after the game, he's clearly unhappy and he's hitting out at the players, which I always say is one of the golden rules in football. You don't criticise your own players in public.

"He's clearly frustrated, but we've seen it from him before, and we've seen similar from other Tottenham managers before, and based on that it doesn't usually end well."

Will Tottenham give De Zerbi time to succeed?

When De Zerbi was appointed as the new Tottenham manager mid-way through last season's relegation battle, plenty of questions were asked about the decision.

The 47-year-old penned a five-year contract in North London in another move that raised eyebrows given his history of early departures in every job he has been in.

However, Wyness told Football Insider on 4 September that De Zerbi will be given time to get things right at Tottenham despite what has been a poor start to the season.

Having kept the club in the Premier League last season, there is still plenty of good will towards the manager from the board, which will buy him time this season.

Pressure is undoubtedly growing on the manager's position at Tottenham, but there are no immediate suggestions he could be sacked, regardless of their recent results.