MY ACCOUNT
Antonio Conte believes he saw signs of Tottenham looking like one of his teams for the first time as they beat Leeds United 4-0 on Saturday.
Spurs cruised at Elland Road, racing into a 2-0 lead through Matt Doherty and Dejan Kulusevski inside 15 minutes before Harry Kane got their third before the half-hour mark as Leeds looked beaten even prior to the break.
Kane then set up Son Heung-min to complete the scoring late on, Spurs’ star duo combining for the 37th time in the Premier League as they set a new record.
It was undoubtedly a timely boost for Spurs, given their midweek defeat to Burnley was followed by an emotional outburst from Conte that had many thinking his days at the club were numbered.
Yet his post-match comments on Saturday were a far cry from that.
“For the first time I have seen my mark, about this system,” Conte told reporters. “The creation from one wing-back and the other wing-back scoring – it means that the work is starting to work. It was a good performance for us against a strong team that is not simple to play against.
“We played a really good game, good football. What I wanted to see today was the right spirit, the right character to fight and win the ball and duels, against a team that are masters in this situation.
“I asked this of my players. I wanted an answer not only in football aspects but also in these aspects, which are very important in my opinion.
“Usually, my teams are not only strong on the pitch but mentally in their desire and spirit. The opponent that plays us has to know this. We are also working on this aspect.
“I asked for this answer, especially after the Burnley defeat. We lost that game because the opponents had more desire.”
It is not the first time Conte has lauded his Spurs team, though. The Italian was highly complimentary after last weekend’s win at Manchester City, yet that was followed by the shock loss at struggling Burnley.
As such, Conte is demanding consistency rather than showing spirit on an “episodic” basis.
“Sometimes I use soft words, sometimes with strong words, but only with one target: to improve,” he continued.
“We need to improve in many aspects. Today I have seen a great desire to fight in every zone. This needs to be the start, not just episodic.
“My words were very clear. I repeat, I am a coach that for me it’s not enough to play the game and to enjoy the game, to come back in England and enjoy to play in the best league in the world.
“I want to create something important, to fight, to win. I want this. My words were very clear.”
