Roberto De Zerbi saluted Tottenham's "character and spirit", but conceded his players are "suffering too much" after they dropped two more points in their battle for Premier League safety.

Spurs remain in the relegation zone with five games remaining, after they were held to a 2-2 draw by De Zerbi's former club Brighton.

The hosts were on course to claim three points after leading twice at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but Georginio Rutter's stoppage-time equaliser prevented them from climbing out of the bottom three.

Tottenham could be four points adrift if Nottingham Forest and West Ham win their respective games on Sunday and Monday, but De Zerbi remained in an optimistic mood.

"I am sorry for the result, for the players, because they are suffering too much," he said. "Today, we deserved to win the game.

"I am positive, I am proud of my players. They played a fantastic game with character and spirit. We have to be stronger than this result, we have to move on and prepare for the next game and try to win the game at Wolves [next weekend].

"Today, I saw signs, I saw blood, character, qualities, organisation with and without the ball – everything to reach our target."

The Spurs boss urged his players to maintain a similar mindset in their battle to avoid the drop.

"I said [after the game] to be strong, to follow me again and again because I want to help them," he added. "They can change the mentality because that is the most important part.

"Now, it's too easy to think negatively, but we have to be focused on this performance and work to find the condition to win again. I am positive because I know my players, I know their qualities. I know them as people and I believe in them.

"I know we are fighting to stay in the Premier League. A very difficult moment. But we are lucky, every one of us, to work in this club with these fans because it was an incredible atmosphere today.

"You would think we are fighting for the Champions League, not relegation. Until the end, we will fight in every game and give our best. If we are able to give our best, it's not finished yet.

"We have to improve a lot of things. The crucial part is to keep this mentality and I told the players to come on Monday afternoon with the same behaviour they showed today.

"I don't want to work with sad people, with negative people. They have to believe in me. If I am here, it's because I am positive about staying in the Premier League."

Pedro Porro, who opened the scoring on Saturday, echoed the head coach's thoughts, insisting he and his team-mates must quickly dust themselves down ready to go again.

"I think after the game, we don't have time for disappointment," the defender said. "For me and my team-mates, the best thing is to keep pushing, keep going.

"I think the team today was very good. I think the first half was very good for us. The team pressed very well. I think the most important thing now is staying positive."