Former Tottenham manager Tim Sherwood said the "buck stops" with Roberto De Zerbi and his players after he accused Spurs of lacking "desire and passion" in their defeat against Brentford.
Spurs' summer spending is set to exceed £300 million with the anticipated arrival of Savinho from Manchester City, and possibly his team-mate Omar Marmoush too, as they bid to bounce back from two poor Premier League seasons which have seen them dice with relegation.
De Zerbi, parachuted in at the end of last season to keep Spurs in the top flight, gave debuts to five players at the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday only to see his side slump to a drab 3-0 defeat.
And Sherwood, who managed Spurs during the 2013-2014 season, told Sky Sports: "It's difficult to give the criticism to the hierarchy and the club because they have brought the players in for him [De Zerbi] and they have done the business very early so they could avoid this happening on the first day of the season.
"He has had plenty of time to work with them, and the players he wanted out, they have done that and have sold them cheaply. So the buck stops with the manager -- and the players, by the way.
"I saw nothing. And to come out after the game and say: 'We were outfought.' Wow, outfought? At any level, you cannot be outfought. I thought that is what he was all about.
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"I like him as a manager, he did wonderfully for Tottenham at the back end of last season and he has absolutely bullied the club to make these signings, and pay over the top for a load of them.
"The non-negotiables are running hard, fighting, winning second balls, winning your headers, and they didn't do any of that [against Brentford].
"Forget about the structure, forget about the pretty patterns which De Zerbi is meant to bring to this club. He is known for passion, his desire, and his team should mirror that and they showed nothing of the sort, it was really poor."