Roberto De Zerbi has urged his Tottenham side to block out negativity as they battle to avoid relegation from the Premier League for the first time since 1977.
In an impassioned pre-match press conference, the Spurs boss delivered a four-minute monologue calling on players, staff, and fans to "silence the voice inside of us" that breeds defeatism.
"The most important challenge now is to silence the voice inside of us, inside of the players, inside the staff and the fans," said De Zerbi, who took over in March as Tottenham's third manager of the season.
"This voice produces negative thoughts and the voice says we are unlucky, we have too many injuries. We lost Xavi Simons and he was in the last two games one of the most important players for us.
"Our medical staff is not good enough, the pitch of the stadium is not good, our training pitch is not good. Winning two or three games in a row is impossible because we hadn't won a game in 2026. I think it's all negative things and it's rubbish.
"It's like we're all crying and relegated. No, not yet. We have to die on the pitch."
Tottenham remain in the relegation zone, two points adrift of safety with four matches left, despite beating bottom side Wolves last weekend. They face Aston Villa on Sunday, followed by Leeds United, Chelsea, and Everton.
De Zerbi dismissed excuses, urging his squad to fight: "We have two points less than West Ham. They have to play a difficult game like us. It's not the best moment for us, a tough moment, but the losers cry, they think negative and I don't want people close to me crying or to think a different way than me."
The Italian also confirmed that James Maddison could play a key role in the run-in after recovering from a long-term ACL injury, offering a boost amid a lengthy injury list that includes Simons, Dominic Solanke, and Guglielmo Vicario.