MY ACCOUNT
Antonio Conte wants to see Tottenham stars Harry Kane, Son Heung-min and Hugo Lloris to step up and carry them to a top-four finish.
Kane was on target on Saturday against Manchester United but Spurs fell to a 3-2 defeat at their fellow Champions League contenders, leaving them six points behind fourth-placed Arsenal, who have played a game fewer.
That was Tottenham’s fifth loss in eight Premier League games, as many as they had in their previous 20 in the competition (W12 D3), and Conte’s side are now outsiders in the top-four race.
Ahead of a clash at Brighton and Hove Albion on Wednesday, Conte called on his captain Lloris and attacking duo Kane and Son to lead the charge for a spot in England’s top four.
“If you want to have a hope to fight until the end for this type of target, this is the moment I have to ask a lot to the big players,” he said.
“To Harry, Hugo and Sonny. These players have to lead the situation to keep us until the end there.
“At the moment, experience is very important. We don’t have a lot of experience in this team and it’s right to ask the players with experience and big talent to give everything.
“I think they’re giving everything but 100 per cent is not enough. We need to ask 120, 130 per cent to have this type of target.
“It will be very important to have people with great talent to lead us until the end and to try to be very close to reach this target.”
If Kane answers Conte’s calls to deliver at the Amex Stadium, with another strike he will become the Premier League’s all-time highest goalscorer on the road in the competition’s history – currently sitting on 94 goals in 138 away games.
Conte also has a 100 per cent top-flight win record against Brighton, winning both games in 2017-18 with Chelsea, but he expects Graham Potter’s side to pose a tough test.
“We’re talking about a really good team, a really good team honestly,” he said of Brighton. “This team likes to play football, they’re strong physically. They’re dynamic, they’re strong at set-pieces.
“They are having a really good season apart from this last period when they lost [four] games in a row. Otherwise, in the table we were very close.
“We have to know that the game will be very difficult. I have watched the game against Liverpool and in the first half Brighton deserved to score goals and get another result against Liverpool.
“It’s important in tough games, as a top team, with the experience you manage these games. Then you bring a difficult game on your side. It happened in the game between Brighton and Liverpool because I thought Brighton played a really good game.”
Arsenal host Liverpool the following day and Conte believes that his north London rivals are currently favourites for Champions League qualification.
“I think that in this moment, Arsenal seems favourite for fourth place and United, but don’t forget there’s also West Ham and don’t forget Wolves,” Conte added. “They’re having a fantastic season and they’re in the same position.
“In England it’s not easy, it’s not simple. When you start the season normally you think it’s four top clubs that at the end, these four teams go to the Champions League, United, [Manchester] City, Chelsea, Liverpool.
“But last season Liverpool struggled to reach their place in the Champions League. This season it’s happening to United. This league is very difficult.
“For sure we have to be in the group of teams who stay, at this moment, behind.
“You have to stay close in the table because there are 11 games to the end of the season and everything can happen. For sure you have to win. If you don’t get three points, you are talking about nothing.”
