Tottenham 2 points adrift of safety after defeat at Sunderland

Tottenham's Premier League plight deepened with a 1-0 defeat at Sunderland on Sunday in Roberto De Zerbi's first match in charge.

Spurs brought in the former Brighton and Marseille boss at the end of last month in a last-ditch bid to save themselves from a catastrophic relegation.

But the Italian failed to inspire his team in a tricky baptism at Sunderland and they remain mired in the drop zone.

Tottenham, playing under their third manager this season, are without a Premier League win since December as they contemplate the nightmare of a first relegation from the English top flight since 1977.

Sunderland won courtesy of a huge slice of luck on the hour, when Nordi Mukiele's shot took a massive deflection off Micky van de Ven and looped into the goal.

Spurs pushed hard for an equaliser late on but to no avail.

De Zerbi said his men were suffering from a crisis of confidence, arguing that a win would change everything.

"I can be a big brother, father, they don't need a coach," he told the BBC. "They don't need to improve football.

"They can play better and they will play better once we reach a different level of confidence."

Tottenham, who recently parted ways with interim boss Igor Tudor, are two points behind 17th-placed West Ham and have six games left to save themselves.

They are the ninth-wealthiest club in the world, according to Deloitte's latest rankings, underlining the extraordinary nature of their predicament.