Portugal Colonial - Robertson tells Spurs to 'forget' past woes

Spurs took just two points from their opening five league matches before the international break despite spending about £380 million ($505 million) to recruit 10 new players during the summer transfer window.

Head coach Roberto De Zerbi called his side "fragile" after last weekend's 3-2 defeat by Aston Villa, during which they at least scored their first league goals of the season.

Former Liverpool full-back Robertson, who joined Spurs on a free transfer, said it was down to the players themselves to change the mindset at the club, which has suffered back-to-back 17th-placed finishes over the past two seasons.

"They have had a couple of really tough seasons in terms of finishing in the league," Scotland captain Robertson, 32, told The Overlap's Stick to Football podcast.

"They have now, to be fair, had to go in the market, they have spent a bit of money, but I do believe Tottenham are now starting a journey."

Robertson said the scars of last season's relegation battle were evident, even though the players were determined to improve.

"You can see last season hurt them a lot, and maybe we are still guilty of carrying that weight of last season on our shoulders," he said.

"And that is, I suppose, the message of the manager, first and foremost. And also that kind of falls on me, on the new players -- we need to forget. We need to now try and get Tottenham back to where we believe they belong.

"You just see certain moments, like the Liverpool game (a 3-1 League Cup defeat last week). We played so well there in moments, and then you get a goal against you, and it is like (heads down).

"And then we go back to 2-1, and all of a sudden it's chests out, and everyone's wanting the ball -- and we need that all the time."

V.F.Barreira--PC