antonio conte happy
Antonio Conte believes that things began to change at Tottenham Hotspur in the wake of his angry tirade after the defeat at Burnley in February and that Champions League football would change life at the club.
Antonio Conte said: “For sure, we played against Burnley and maybe, I don’t remember a long time ago, but, for sure, from that time a lot of things have changed. It’s important also for me and for my players, for the club, for the environment to know each other very well in a complete way. I repeat, I’m a person, an honest person and I don’t like to tell lies and if I have to go strong, then I go strong. I have to do it completely. I knew this could be positive for the team, for the environment, for the players, for the club. I’m a person who likes to put across my message for every situation, positive or negative. If there’s a situation when I have to go strong then I go strong.”
Antonio Conte added: “For sure, the most important thing that we had time to know each other, to work together and I think this the best situation that I could exploit to improve my team. Don’t forget that I arrived at Tottenham in November and usually when you arrive during the season you have to work. You have to play games, there’s no time, it’s all about the three points, winning the three points, losing three points. I don’t like the situation but you have to accept it, but I think a lot of things have changed from Burnley, we worked a lot together, we had time, we also had the possibility to know each other much better. It’s very important to create a good connection with your players because it’s important that the players know you very well and for me to know my players very well. That connection is very important.”
With two games remaining of the Premier League season, Tottenham will either finish in fourth or fifth place, the difference between qualification for the Champions League or the Europa League. Conte was asked whether he can contemplate another season spent outside of Europe’s top club competition.
Antonio Conte said: “For sure this is a possibility. In this moment, I think to fight for a place in the Champions League is a big achievement for us, but at the same time, maybe we can fight to stay for a place in the Europa League. We are doing something important for this club and in England it’s not easy to play for a place in the Champions League. For sure, for Manchester United haven’t made it and for us it’s very difficult to fight for the top four. We had to be honest and say there was a lot of room for improvement. We can still arrive finishing fourth or fifth but it’s a good achievement, both places. In England you say the club is in a transition moment and for sure there is a lot of space for improvement if we want to fight for a place in the Champions League, to be a contender to fight for the title. We need to improve a lot, a lot, to improve the quality of our squad and the numbers in our squad. At this moment, we are fighting with 14 players and 14 players is a tiny squad. For this reason, we have to be proud. The players have to be proud because the players made a great improvement and they deserve to play for a place in the Champions League. Our target is this because we know very well that Champions League changes your life, for the club, the fans, the manager, the players. The players want to play the best competition, the manager wants to play the best competition and for this reason I repeat I’m very happy for the improvement we have, but it’s not enough, not enough. It’s not in our hands, the qualification is in the hands of Arsenal because if they win their two games then the play in the Champions League. We have to be ready to exploit it if they don’t win the two games, but my players deserve to have the chance to fight for a place in the Champions League because we show in this season that we are much better than the others.”
