‘Never cries’ – Roberto De Zerbi makes Ange Postecoglou and Tottenham claim ahead of Brighton clash

The Albion head coach revealed that wingers Kaoru Mitoma (ankle) and Simon Adingra (hamstring) are unavailable for at least a month, meaning they have eight players out injured.

But instead of moaning about their predicament, the Italian has taken inspiration from Spurs boss Postecoglou, who he says doesn’t complain about their eight-strong absentee list.

Ahead of Thursday’s clash at the Amex, De Zerbi said: “I would like to play with the complete squad. But Tottenham have played a lot of games without 7-8 players and [Ange] Postecoglou never cries, we have to accept and I think we can compete in the same way.

"Maybe we have more energy with young players and Jakub Moder hasn’t played for more than a year, so maybe he can bring energy too. I’m lucky because we have a great academy and today we can bring 3-4 players from there and we can compete.”

De Zerbi added that the Sussex side’s hefty injury list forces him to up his game when it comes to setting up his team.

The 44-year-old will need to be at his tactical best when Brighton host high-flying Tottenham on the south coast.

“The most important thing has been the mentality of the team. When there are many [injury] problems you have to work better and harder. I have to think about different ways on the pitch and find the balance without and with the ball, which I like [to do] as a coach," he added.

"I can’t change my DNA but without eight players you have to find different solutions to keep our style and our idea as much as possible. We have to transform problems into opportunities.”