antonio conte happy
Was Ronaldo just too good today?
It was an amazing performance from Cristiano. Unfortunately I know him very well so it wasn’t a surprise for me. We are talking about a player with Messi who are the best players in the world in my opinion. We are talking about a player who is decisive and in that moment that the team needed him he’s always present. I remember very well also in the Champions League group he was decisive for them to go through to the next round. He’s a player that feels this type of game and then he becomes Cristiano Ronaldo, and we can see a fantastic player. For sure a great compliment to him because to arrive at his age with his form, with his mentality, with his desire to win, you have to do only great compliments to your opponent.
How do you fix this inconsistency with Spurs?
[As for] what is happening, I’m the first to tell that if you want to be competitive, if you want to improve your level you have to try, to work a lot. At this moment the team needs to work a lot on many aspects. At the same time we have to be stable, to be stable and to keep good results in every moment. Instead we are doing up and down, up and down. Don’t forget that in the last five games we scored three goals at Manchester City away, four goals away at Leeds, five goals against Everton, two goals here against United away. It means that the team is producing, is improving, and creating chances and scoring a lot of goals. But at the same time we have to try to improve in experience and to manage the game. Because during the game there are many parts of the game. There are moments where you feel you have to push and to push, and to go strong, to win duels. There are moments that you have to keep possession. You have to be more calm. I think in this aspect we can improve a lot. It depends on the experience. We have many players, young players and many players that they are in this league for not a long time. I know very well that I have to change this situation, working a lot, working a lot. This situation it hasn’t come from now but has come from a long period, to see up and down, up and down, for this team. We have to continue to work and to give continuity to make more experience to manage the game because of the example. We have equalised but after one minute we conceded a second goal. We have made it 2-2 but then we have conceded a goal from a set piece. In the last period we have been conceding a lot of goals from set pieces but we are working on this. You have to know that this is a process because this team is a team that needs time, needs time to grow and improve, but I think you can see their improvement, a big improvement on the pitch. You can see what they’re doing on the pitch but in this process you need time and patience and then try to do this but I want to push my players, because our ambition has to be to stay very close to the top four. I want to take this responsibility because we are working a lot and I am seeing a lot of improvement. We need a target to give us emotion, to give us the possibility to push ourselves. We have to be disappointed because from this game we deserved much more, not only to draw.
Son is working hard but he seems to be lacking in confidence in the final third. Is that something you can help with or does he need to rediscover it by himself?
It’s difficult to speak about single players because in the last game against Everton he was devastating, Sonny. I think that we win with the whole team and we lose with the whole team. For sure we have players that for us that are very important. There are a couple of players that are very, very important to us and we need to always have good performances but Sonny and I think he played a good game to give everything tonight. Then there are games that everything goes well and others where you can slip. Tonight, he slipped twice! He slipped twice and it was a pity because it was in two important situations where you can go towards the goal. Sonny is a really important player for us and he’s a player that can make a difference for Tottenham.
You spoke on Monday about the top four, does it feel like an opportunity has been missed?
For sure we miss an opportunity because I always say in England there are four teams in my opinion – City, United, Chelsea, Liverpool – that unless something goes wrong, otherwise in this moment the top four are these four clubs in my opinion. But it can happen as last season Liverpool struggled until the end for a place in the Champions League. In this season United are struggling, and in this case, in this moment, there are three or four teams including Tottenham that we have to stay very close, fight. But at the same time, I repeat, we have to be frustrated for the defeat. But at the same time to come here to Old Trafford and to play this way, to come back twice against United, to show that we’re a good team I think this is positive in one hand. In the other hand it is negative as despite the good performance we lost the game. I hope in the future it don’t happen. Before if we lose the game we lose because we played badly, and not after this performance because I have seen my players in the dressing room they were very sad. From tomorrow we analyse the situation and to try improve the set pieces because, I repeat, we are conceding a lot of goals from set pieces.
You said that this team needs time, are you patient?
I think that every day I like to go to the training ground and to work with these players. I think I am doing a fantastic experience because I enjoy my time at Tottenham. For sure a different situation if I have to compare to my past as past I fought to win the title, to win a trophy. This situation is a big challenge, a new challenge but the people see very well the commitment what I’m doing, what I’m putting into the training ground with my staff to try to deliver something important. As I always say I have patience and I like to work, like to work what we are doing and at the same time I want to be very clear as I don’t want to lose my ambition. This must be very clear to everybody. I repeat I hope that we are in the same way.
