#PLStories – Antonio Conte reveals importance of experienced players and spending to improve Tottenham squad #THFC
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Antonio Conte has shot down claims that he joined Tottenham Hotspur because he was given promises about what the club would do in the transfer market.
Antonio Conte said “I did not sign for Tottenham because the chairman or the general director told me something about the transfer market or about the money the club is going to spend, honestly. I accepted because I felt that Tottenham could be a fantastic situation for me to work, to try to bring my idea of football, to try to create something important for this club. For sure they said to me that ‘we want to improve and we would like to work with you’. I said OK, yes, and now we have to try to improve and to bring the team to an important level. I know very well it will be very difficult because the gap is not a little gap, but we have to try to match our ambition and the reality of the situation in this moment of the team.”
Tottenham have historically not been a team that have matched the spending power of the Premier League big boys and Conte was asked whether that past was something he was aware of.
Antonio Conte said “In this moment I think I can’t confirm this. Also because with me the club did not spend money. I am here for only two months. I think that we have to go to do the right things. I know it’s not easy because to improve the situation there is only the January transfer market. Then there is the work, my work, the work of my staff and the players to try to improve the situation. As I said before, I enjoy working at Tottenham because I found a fantastic environment, fantastic atmosphere, amazing stadium, fantastic training ground. For sure I think maybe we have to bring the level of the team to the same level as our infrastructure. To try to match the situation now, I think we have to improve to match these two different situations.”
At previous clubs, Conte would occasionally bring in experienced players to help his team’s mentality, something that Tottenham rarely do, preferring to sign young players who can improve.
Antonio Conte said “When you go to sign experienced players, it’s usually because you can spend money. This is one reason and then there is another reason. When you go to sign experienced players it can help you, it can help the players in the squad. Especially if there are young players without great experience. It is not simple to sign experienced players but at the same time I think there are players who can build something important. For example Ibrahimovic for Milan, a great signing for them. He brought his experience in a group of young players. To help them improve and to teach them how to manage the pressure. For these two reasons you can sign experienced players.”
Having earlier swerved the question, Conte was asked if he could provide assurances to the club’s fans that he would still be at Spurs following the next two transfer windows and by the time next season begins in August.
Antonio Conte said “Honestly I like to live in the present and not to think a lot of the future. Now it is important to live in the present, to try in the present to improve the situation and get out the best of my players. To work to improve the situation because the present is now, the future is later. Later could be too much later for us. We have to be focused on the present and work to try to improve the situation now. Then I will see. Now we have to be focused on the present and we have to work a lot to try to keep Tottenham in the right position.”
When pressed yet again,
Antonio Conte added: “As you know I signed a contract for the end of the season and one year more, but I repeat, I am enjoying my time at Tottenham and I have a good relationship with the people in Tottenham, with our chairman, with our general director. I want to work and improve this team. We have to be focused on the present to try to improve the situation. For sure I want to improve, we want to improve. This must be the important thing.”
One thing is clear and that is that Conte is a winner and his ambition has brought titles galore during his career and Spurs will eventually have to match his needs.
Antonio Conte said “Yeah, for sure. I don’t lose my ambition and this must be very clear. I like to fight for something important. I like to fight and to be competitive. I know very well there is only one team that can lift trophies at the end of the season, especially in England where the level is very difficult and every squad is very strong. For sure I don’t want to lose my characteristic. I don’t want to lose my will, my desire. Otherwise I will go against myself. I have to be the same person in every moment and I want to keep this characteristic.”
With reports in the summer that Real Madrid and Manchester United were put off by the potential demands of the Italian, when Spurs announced his arrival in November it was presumed by many that he must have been promised transfer funds by the north London club’s chairman Daniel Levy and managing director of football Fabio Paratici. However, Conte disputes that version of events and says it was the club that lured him.
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