Roberto De Zerbi may have spent close to £400m by the time his Tottenham Hotspur rebuild is complete – but it took just his side's first Premier League game of the season to prove all the money in the world is no guaranteed cure for a losing mentality. De Zerbi, by his own admission, confirmed his role was more psychologist than coach when he was given seven games to keep Spurs in the top-flight following his appointment in March. He achieved that feat, but only just as Spurs survived with victory against Everton on the final day.
The Italian has been handed vast funds for a host of new players to ensure Spurs do not suffer a repeat of the nightmare campaign. This dreadful defeat was not the start he or the Spurs power brokers envisaged. For all the change in transfer strategy and personnel, the manner in which Spurs capitulated at the first sign of pressure as they were run ragged by Brentford provided gruesome evidence that you need more than a huge transfer fund to give a team mental strength.
De Zerbi may feel he has addressed some of the ills in a squad that has finished 17th in the Premier League two seasons in succession. However, he will have to turn psychologist once more as the new Spurs looked like the old Spurs as they were dismantled in the west London sunshine. He pointed to a lack of physical conditioning of players who had been at the World Cup or were newcomers, but this did not excuse the lack of basics, shortage of resilience and the fact Brentford were so superior in every area.
De Zerbi told BBC Sport's Match of the Day: "Bad game. We lost and suffered the difference in the duels. It was the key of this game.
We didn't fight in the right way. Maybe credit to them because it's the best quality Brentford have. "Our physical condition was not in the right level for all players because many came later after the World Cup and there were many new players in the squad and first XI.
But we have to analyse this game better because we can't play this way in this type of game." The day started with Spurs fans bursting with optimism in one corner of The Gtech Community Stadium, welcoming their new recruits raucously. It ended with those same players applauding a large swathe of empty seats, some vacating as early as the 49th minute when Michael Kayode put The Bees 3-0 up. It could have been even worse had the normally reliable Igor Thiago not struck the post with a penalty, but that was no consolation for Spurs or De Zerbi on what was a chastening day.
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