MY ACCOUNT
Antonio Conte has attempted to clarify his comments after appearing not overly impressed with Tottenham’s January transfer activity.
Spurs allowed Tanguy Ndombele, Bryan Gil and Giovani Lo Celso to leave on loan last month, while Dele Alli joined Everton on a permanent deal.
Tottenham brought in Juventus pair Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur on the final day of the transfer window, following repeated links with Adama Traore and Luis Diaz, who chose Barcelona and Liverpool respectively.
Conte hinted at his discontent in an interview with Sky Sport in Italy, suggesting Spurs had “weakened”, but the former Inter head coach tried to clarify his views on Friday.
“During the interview after the transfer window, after January ended, they asked me about the club, if I was happy, and I said the club did the best that the club could do,” Conte told reporters.
“We lost four players and I said important players for Tottenham, because these players we sent away on loan, Tottenham paid a lot of money. When you spend a lot of money, it means we are talking about important players.
“To pay attention to the future because we need players used to playing in this league and in my last interview, I said numerically, when you lose four players, important players for Tottenham, I repeat because they spent a lot of money, and you sign two players.
“If I had 20 players and now I have 18 players numerically, you can be a bit weaker…numerically. Then I said also with Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur, as a squad we are more complete. I think I was very, very clear.”
Conte reiterated that his main priority is securing Champions League football next season, but Spurs have lost three consecutive Premier League games, last winning at Leicester City on January 19, and sit eighth.
They are seven points off fourth-placed Manchester United, who have played three games more, ahead of Saturday’s trip to Manchester City, and Conte is expecting another tough task.
“I always said I’m enjoying my time with Tottenham, enjoying working with these players,” he added. “I always said this.
“Then we have four months at the end of this season and we have to try to do our best to finish in the best place possible in this league and then we’ll see.
“It’ll be an interesting game for us. But I don’t think that it’s right to consider it a special game because there are the best coaches in the world [in the dugouts]. It’s a game between two teams, one team that’s maybe the best in the world and almost perfect.
“They’re in a fantastic period of form. That’s one side. On the other side is a team trying to build something important for the future.
“At this moment, two different levels. At the same time, we prepared the game very well. We know that tomorrow we’re going to suffer.
“We know very well that problem tomorrow, like in every game, Manchester City will keep the ball for 70-80 per cent. But at the same time in the other 20 per cent we have to be good, be effective, attack in the right way.
“When they have the ball, we must be compact and tactically perfect. If you want a good result against Manchester City at the moment, you have to be perfect. You have to know you have to suffer as a team, to find the situations to try to hurt them.”
“We have to be effective and attack in the right way”
Watch as Antonio Conte previews tomorrow’s game against Manchester City
And Conte predicts City will defend their top-flight crown come the end of the season as he questioned whether Spurs could reach the levels of Pep Guardiola’s side in the future.
“It’s difficult to answer this question,” he continued. “We’re talking about a fantastic team. They’re working with the same coach for many years.
“They have the possibility to, also in these years, go into the market and spend a lot of money.
“For sure, Pep is doing a fantastic job but in every club that he trained he had fantastic results. Important clubs, because Barcelona is an important club, Bayern Munich is an important club, now Manchester City is an important club but for sure great compliments to him, because to play against his team is not simple, not easy for anyone.
“I think they’re the favourite to win the Premier League – to be ahead by nine points means in this league you’re very strong.”
