Tottenham Hotspur manager Roberto de Zerbi said Richarlison is no longer his problem after the Brazil international took to social media to reignite a public feud with the Italian tactician.

Richarlison had expressed a desire to leave Spurs during the summer transfer window, but moves to Everton and Vasco da Gama both fell through and the 29-year-old has since been left out of the first team.

After making an appearance for the Under-21s in an EFL Trophy match against fourth-tier Cheltenham on Oct 13, Richarlison backed criticism of de Zerbi by Toffees legend Duncan Ferguson.

“You don’t leave a player like that out unless there’s been a real murder: he’s chinned him or there’s been a proper scrap on the training ground,” Ferguson, who briefly coached Richarlison when he was interim manager, was quoted as saying on The Overlap Daily.

The unsettled striker shared the quotes on social media on Oct 17, along with the caption: “Thanks Duncan Ferguson, you are right.”

Asked about the Richarlison situation during a pre-match press conference on Oct 18, de Zerbi said: “I don’t know, it’s not my problem any more. You have to ask (Spurs CEO) Vinai (Venkatesham), to (sporting director) Johan (Lange), it’s not my problem.

“I know as a coach I have to accept, to support, (take) pressure, to take responsibility even if it’s not my responsibility because I didn’t decide. I have not decided nothing in this situation.

“If he wants to speak about me, he can and he knows where he can find me. I stay in my office from 8.30am until the evening. I have no problem with nobody, but I don’t want to speak any more because my focus is on the Coventry game and the focus is just to improve my team.”

Spurs, who are bottom of the table with three draws and three defeats, will hope to register their first league win of the season when they host promoted Coventry City on Oct 19 (Oct 20, Singapore time).

After losing their first four EPL games, Frank Lampard’s side have snatched back-to-back wins, beating Nottingham Forest 1-0 and Newcastle United 4-1.

Forward Sidiki Cherif, 19, was among the players hailed by Lampard at his pre-match press conference on Oct 15.

“I love working with players in that age bracket,” said the English manager. “When they have the personalities these boys do, they’re desperate to learn and improve. You support them and talk about their game a lot - review games and training.”

Lampard added that while their recent wins represent an improvement, he believes there is “much more we can do”.

De Zerbi said Coventry deserve to play in the top tier, adding: “They played with energy, with quality also, because they have players like Cherif, I know very well, and other players.”

The Spurs boss will be without winger Savinho and midfielder Lucas Bergvall due to injuries.

Defender Pedro Porro also remains on the sidelines, but Spurs will welcome back Swedish forward Dejan Kulusevski, who was out for more than a year due to a knee injury.

“I think it’s one of the best news... because Deki he suffered too much. He deserves to feel emotion on the pitch,” said de Zerbi.