Antonio Conte’s press conferences of late have troubled fans and experts alike. The Tottenham Hotspur manager seemed to target his current employers with his verbal attacks before later playing them down as calculated tactics. In his latest media rambling, the Italian appeared to suggest that Spurs have been stuck in a rut for the last 20 years, and that it is impossible for any manager to “change their story” in the short term.
“Tottenham’s story is this, many ups and downs, but to be competitive, to try to win something, to try to fight for something important and become a strong team, the first thing that has to happen is to be stable and avoid these ups and downs,”
he told the media.
Conte claimed that changing the perpetual inconsistency that has set inside the club for the past few decades is difficult to deal with – and that it needs to be solved over time.
“In a short time, it’s impossible to do this, not only for me but I think for any manager or coach to come in and change the story in one second. This story of this club for the last 20 years. Especially when this club for 20 years has this type of situation,”
he said.
Inconsistency has been the nature of Spurs’ run of late. The North Londoners enjoyed an unbeaten streak under Conte during the early weeks of his spell, that is, until they faced rivals Chelsea thrice in January across two competitions – and lost all three games. Losses against Southampton, Wolves, and Burnley were punctuated with a shock 3-2 win over Manchester City, but a cup exit at the hands of Championship side Middlesbrough left fans with much to desire from Conte and his men.
Eliminated from all of the available cup competitions, Conte and Spurs can now turn their attention towards finishing in one of the top four spots in the Premier League. They are currently seventh, three points behind fourth-placed Manchester United but with two games in hand.
