Tottenham boss Roberto de Zerbi says knowing rival fans are willing the club to be relegated from the Premier League is a “big motivation” to stay up.
Spurs are two points above West Ham, who occupy the final relegation place, and have a vastly better goal difference (-9) than their London rivals (-22) having played a game fewer.
That means a point from either of their last two fixtures – at Chelsea on Tuesday or against Everton at the Tottenham Stadium – will safeguard their top-flight status bar a set of freak results.
Chelsea supporters will be keen to pile the misery on to Spurs when the sides meet at Stamford Bridge.
But De Zerbi said his players have to “enjoy this pressure”, calling a “good thing” for them to have.
“We have to find new motivation from this pressure. If everyone wants Tottenham relegated, it’s a big motivation for me and I hope for my players as well,” he told a news conference.
“We have to accept that football is nice because of the rivalry. It’s good to imagine ourselves celebrating the win in their stadium. It’s the reason football is like this, no?”
The Italian insists the external pressure should serve as fuel rather than a distraction for his squad.
De Zerbi said: “It’s a motivation, it’s a challenge. If a challenge is tougher, it’s better for us to find new motivation and to be focused on staying together from the beginning to the end of the game.
“The pride is amazing motivation. The pride, if everyone wants Tottenham relegated, I think for one Tottenham player, one Tottenham fan, all the people who work inside Tottenham, it has to be the biggest motivation.”
Even though Spurs only realistically need a point, De Zerbi has warned his players not to approach the game playing for a draw.
“We can’t start the game thinking to draw,” he explained.
“We have to start the game and we prepare the game and we speak in the meeting to win the game.
“Everybody wants to stay up, everyone wants to achieve this goal and then we can speak about everything.”