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Roberto De Zerbi has revealed what he thought of Kevin Danso’s performance against Brighton and why he did not mind the Tottenham defender’s error in stoppage time.
Danso has been a reliable performer for Tottenham whenever called upon this season, and it was not surprising to see De Zerbi hand a start to the Austrian following Cristian Romero’s injury.
The former Lens man had a lapse in concentration in stoppage time as Tottenham were looking to see out a 2-1 win, which would have been their first league win of the calendar year and moved them out of the drop zone.
Danso gave the ball away inside Spurs’ own box in stoppage time, with Georginio Rutter making the Lilywhites pay with a late equaliser which sank Tottenham hearts.
Roberto De Zerbi pleased with the courage shown by Tottenham star Kevin Danso
De Zerbi insisted that he was very pleased with Danso’s overall performance against Brighton despite his late error.
The Tottenham boss explained that he does not mind mistakes as long as they come as a result of players showing courage on the ball, as the centre-back did in that instance.
When asked if conceding at the end of either half pointed towards his side’s mental fragility, De Zerbi told Football.London: “I don’t know, I didn’t think like this. The first goal of Mitoma was incredible. And the second goal, the ball possession was for us, because Danso played another fantastic game, but the ball was with Danso. He lost the ball and then we conceded a goal.
“But I prefer to make mistakes with the personality to play than to concede a goal without personality, without courage. Now we need courage, now we need to win the game. And to win the game we have to be positive and to play football with the ball and not stay just to defend with 11 players and go in counter-attack.”
De Zerbi wants Spurs to continue playing the same way
While the result was heartbreaking from a Tottenham standpoint, the fans can take some heart from the fact that the Lilywhites showed more attacking intent against Brighton than they have at home for much of the season.
De Zerbi was pleased with what his side produced and wants to see them continuing to play with confidence on the ball.
When asked if this is the way he wants Tottenham to play, the 46-year-old responded: “Yes, absolutely. They have to play like this and have to play showing what they are able to do on the pitch. Enjoy with the ball, enjoy when they come to the training ground and to feel in confidence. I have to be good to transfer what I think and what I believe in my players because it is the truth and to prepare game by game.”
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