Roberto De Zerbi decision leaves thousands of Spurs fans 'disappointed' ahead of Brighton clash

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The Tottenham squad will now be welcomed by thousands of supporters for the Brighton game after a decision that was taken by Roberto De Zerbi

A section of Tottenham supporters have been left "disappointed" by Roberto De Zerbi's decision for the squad not to arrive on the team coach for this weekend's Premier League clash against Brighton.

The Spurs players were greeted by thousands upon their arrival to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for last month's crucial relegation match against Nottingham Forest. Plans for a similar display were in place ahead of Saturday evening's game against Brighton, but that is now not going to happen.

In a statement posted on X by @SpursArmyTweets: "Contrary to what we had hoped for, the players will not be arriving on the team coach for the Brighton game. We have been in discussion with the club and this is purely a decision taken by Roberto De Zerbi - the players will arrive earlier due to his reasoning.

"He and the club have both apologised for the Coach Meet not taking place. Disappointing, as we had hoped we can welcome them again in thousands, as we try to give them a lift ahead of a vital time for the club.

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"However, we purely understand that this is now do or die and we support whatever Roberto sees fit in order for his players to have the best possible preparation.

"We have already been in discussions, as a contingency, in case the Coach Meet did not materialise. It is now a tight turnaround, but other plans are being worked on to raise the atmosphere before kick-off. More details to follow soon."

The significance of the Brighton match has increased significantly following last weekend's results, which pushed Spurs into the relegation zone.

West Ham beat Wolves on Friday night, while Forest picked up a point against Aston Villa on Sunday. At the same time as the latter, Tottenham lost to Sunderland while Leeds United beat Manchester United on Monday evening.

Daniel Farke's side face Spurs next month but could be safe from relegation by then with nine points now separating the two.

Prior to their meeting in north London, Spurs travel to face Wolves and Aston Villa with the hope that the latter will be more focused on their Europa League campaign.

Injury problems have made De Zerbi's task even harder with two major blows emerging since he arrived at the club. Mohammed Kudus suffered a hamstring issue working his way back to full fitness, and now Cristian Romero has been ruled out for the season.

The Spurs captain picked a knee injury against Sunderland that will see him miss the next few weeks. One fitness positive did arrive in training on Wednesday, however, with Rodrigo Bentancur back in partial training.

James Maddison was also spotted out on the grass at Hotspur Way with his teammates, but is still some way off featuring again having undergone ACL surgery.