Antonio Conte has raised more alarm bells about his Tottenham side, claiming the club is completely different to his previous title-winning sides ‘in terms of fighting to win.’
The Italian replaced Nuno Espirito Santo as Spurs boss at the start of November but Tottenham have been inconsistent since he took over, and currently lie in eighth place – seven points behind fourth-placed Manchester United.
Conte, who has won league titles in his three previous club jobs at Juventus, Chelsea and Inter Milan, raised concerns about Spurs in a leaked interview with Sky Sports Italia, where he claimed the January transfer window made his side ‘worse.’
But as details of the full Sky interview come out, the 52-year-old – who it previously emerged had claimed that Tottenham have a ‘one per cent chance’ to qualify for the Champions League this season – is not scared about the challenges at Spurs.
Conte admitted his task at Spurs is ‘a totally different situation’ compared to his previous roles ‘in terms of perspectives, ambitions and in terms of fighting to win’.
He added: ‘Tottenham has been in the middle of the table for so many years. But here this did not scare me’.
‘I am certainly happy with the way we are working. I think we are doing a lot but I am realising being inside the situation that it will take time and patience because there are many young players even at their first experience in the Premier League who need to grow, gain experience and raise their level.’
Quotes from Conte’s controversial interview had been released earlier this week, where the Italian hit out at Tottenham’s failings in the transfer window.
Spurs, led by sporting director Fabio Paratici and owner Daniel Levy in the market, tried to sign attackers Luis Diaz and Adama Traore, but they chose Liverpool and Barcelona respectively for their mid-season moves.
Tottenham, who let Tanguy Ndombele, Bryan Gil, Dele Alli and Giovani Lo Celso leave the club in the final week of the transfer window, could only bring in Juventus duo Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur on deadline day.
And Conte not only claimed that Tottenham are now ‘weaker’ in the second half of the season but also revealed that his two new signings are ‘not ready’ yet.
‘Four players left in January. Four important players for Tottenham, two have arrived. So even numerically instead of reinforcing, you may have, on paper, weakened,’ Conte said.
‘Bentancur and Kulusevski are ideal prospects for Tottenham, because Tottenham are seeking young players they can develop and grow, not players who are ready.
‘That is the issue. I have realised now that this is the vision of the club. It is inevitable that if you want to grow faster and if you want to be competitive more quickly you need players with a lot of experience because they also lead to an increase in experience in your team.’
Courtesy: Daily Mail UK
