adminMick McCarthy reveals why Sunderland defeat could be the best thing for Tottenham
Tottenham remain stuck in the relegation zone after suffering a 1-0 loss away to Sunderland, deepening their survival fears in new head coach Roberto De Zerbi’s first match at the helm.
De Zerbi had nearly ten days to work with the squad he took over from Igor Tudor, who was dismissed during the March international break. But Spurs looked unconvincing at the back and struggled to create chances, leaving them in the dreaded drop zone with only a handful of games remaining.
A deflected strike from Nordi Mukiele handed Tottenham their 16th Premier League defeat of the season. Despite the result, De Zerbi stayed composed in his post-match press conference, expressing faith in his players to keep the club in the top flight and pointing to positives from the loss to the Black Cats.
Mick McCarthy’s intriguing take on Spurs’ survival hopes
Sunday’s defeat left Tottenham 18th in the table, two points adrift of safety, and extended their winless league run to 14 matches. Alarmingly, Spurs have yet to win a league game in 2026—a stretch of five draws and nine losses, now the club’s second-longest such streak, behind only a 16-game run in 1934-35.
Despite the grim outlook, former Manchester United captain Roy Keane remains hopeful that De Zerbi can guide Tottenham to safety. Meanwhile, ex-Premier League manager Mick McCarthy has offered an interesting perspective: the Sunderland loss and subsequent slide into the relegation zone might actually benefit Spurs ahead of their final six matches.
“When you’re fourth from bottom, your main concern is the team behind you, because only one can catch you,” McCarthy said on The Managers podcast. “Suddenly, you go to third-bottom, and it creates more desire. You think, ‘Hold on, we’re in a real relegation fight—yeah, we can catch them.’
“It’s a bonkers mentality, but being in the bottom three can actually give you a more positive outlook because you’re only looking upward, trying to overtake the teams above you. Unless you’ve been there, you can’t fully understand that shift in mindset.”
Spirit at rock bottom
After lifting the Europa League title last May, this season was supposed to bring further progress for Tottenham. Instead, they find themselves in a relegation scrap, having not won a league match since beating Crystal Palace on December 28.
There are few signs of improvement on the pitch, with the players appearing beaten and drained. De Zerbi is tasked with getting the best out of them, but his hands are tied given the squad’s current state.
That said, many Spurs fans are unlikely to agree with McCarthy’s claim that the club is ideally placed in the bottom three with six games to go.
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