“It makes a difference to your mood,” Antonio Conte smiles, referring to the warm spring weather in north London. The sun is shining and there is a positive feeling around Tottenham’s training ground days after their midweek win at Brighton.
The result bolstered Tottenham’s first four chances but also continued their bizarre streak of alternating defeats and wins in their last eight games.
With just 10 games to go – including Sunday’s showdown with West Ham’s top four chasers – now is when they need to find consistency if they are to race late for a Champions League spot. .
Can they do it? Conte is confident.
“Right now now I have great confidence,” he says sky sports. “My feeling is good because I see a big improvement.
Sunday March 20 4:00 p.m.
“We work very hard during these five months [that he’s been in charge] but now I’m starting to see a big improvement in my team in many aspects: not only on the pitch but also outside, with the mentality.
“I think we are preparing to take another step and it will be very important to end the season in the best possible way to continue to give us confidence and to continue to believe in the work we are doing.”
I’m starting to see a big improvement in my team in many aspects: not just on the pitch but also outside, with the mentality.
This isn’t the only occasion during our conversation where Conte refers to his time in charge. The Italian has repeatedly spoken about the scale of the task he feels he has at Tottenham – but those hours on the training ground since arriving in November are starting to pay off and the culture he’s trying to bring to the club may be starting to hold.
He also believes Spurs are now “more complete” with the arrival of high-impact January signings Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski.
“I see improvement in many aspects,” he says. “Technically, tactically, and now after four and a half months, the players understand very well what I want with the ball, without the ball.
“We have a bit more time to work on a specific situation on the pitch, we have a bit more time to work on the mentality and that happens especially after a defeat.
“For example, after the loss against Manchester United, I think we deserved a lot more. We lost the game but when you lose this type of game you have to learn a lot and try to improve. And on the mental aspect , understand there are games where you have to be strong, you have to be a killer. Because in this game we had the possibility of killing – in a sporting way – our opponent. And instead we lost the game.”
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FREE TO WATCH: Highlights from Tottenham’s win over Brighton in the Premier League.
Does he have the right characters on his team to take this approach?
“The whole team can improve in this area,” he replies.
“The players, in the environment, must understand that there is a difference between a victory and a defeat. When you win, the atmosphere around you is joyful. You like to come here for your training, to stay with your teammates, with your staff, with your coach. When you lose, you have to know that the atmosphere must be a little less cheerful.
“I think you have to gain a good atmosphere around you and there is only one way: to win.”
This ruthless, winning attitude is what has made Conte so successful as a player and a coach. He is now setting a high standard for his Spurs players.
Finishing fourth isn’t easy, it’s not easy. But I wanted my players to have that ambition, to have that goal because now we’ve improved a lot and we’re ready to play every game and fight and try to get three points.
“We know very well that to finish fourth is not simple, it’s not easy. But I wanted my players to have that ambition, to have that goal because now we have improved a lot.
“You know football is strange and anything can happen, but right now I think we’re ready to fight every game and have a good chance of getting three points. Then we’ll see what position we’re going to finish. this season. .”
Indeed anything can happen in football, as West Ham fans will agree after their remarkable Europa League Round of 16 win over Sevilla on Thursday night. Whether that big 120-minute effort helps or hinders local rivals Spurs on Sunday adds to the intrigue of this game. Conte prepares for the first.
Tottenham beat West Ham at home in the Carabao Cup in December
“My reaction to the West Ham game was that our game will be very difficult,” Conte said. “If West Ham can beat Sevilla, who are second in Spain, it means the level of this league is very, very high.
“But now we are more complete and ready to fight to the end to try to achieve an important goal.
“It won’t be easy, there are many, many teams with the same ambitions. But if we want to improve, if we want to start putting pressure on ourselves, now is the right time to have some ambition and to set ambition.”
With the weather fine, Spurs now need a run in the sun to match their manager’s goals.
Watch: Conte on Arteta’s complaint about the match – ‘I haven’t forgotten the postponement of the North London derby’
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Antonio Conte says he hasn’t forgotten the postponement of the North London Derby after Arsenal called for the match to be canceled in January. Conte’s comments came after he was asked about Arteta’s comments about fixture congestion.
Is Everton’s breakout operational? | Spurs to stop the happy Hammers? | Southgate England team winners and losers
Football fans, rejoice, because another edition of the Essential Football Podcast is here! Ron Walker is joined by Sky Sports’ Resident Evertonian Land Ben and our feature editor of an Arsenal persuasion Nick Wright to reflect on another big week up and down the Premier League, and look ahead to the first international break of 2022…
PART 1 | From a dramatic late winner and hotly contested red card to a one-off on-field protest and huge ramifications down the table, Everton’s vital 10 win over Newcastle may have lacked quality, but she more than made up for in talking points, which Nick, who was at Goodison for the first time, and Ben dissect.
PART 2 | With some headaches in east London after West Ham’s stunning win over Sevilla in the Europa League, we wonder if there is an opportunity for Tottenham to end their Champions League rivals’ hopes of qualification. with a win on Super Sunday, or if the Hammers can continue to ride that wave towards more glory.
PART 3 | After Gareth Southgate announced his England squad for March friendlies against Switzerland and the Ivory Coast, Nick questions the omission of Jadon Sancho and launches an impassioned defense of the inclusion of Harry Maguire, Ben explains why the door isn’t closed on Marcus Rashford, before the pair get stuck in the Jordan Pickford vs Aaron Ramsdale debate and consider who will be England No.1 ahead of Qatar 2022.
