#PLStories- Antonio Conte said on positive Covid test, if Matt Doherty needs surgery and strange week #THFC
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What kind of an impact with you having had Covid this week had on your preparations?
The impact… I attended the training sessions but from a distance. I had my staff. My staff did a really good job. After the game against Aston Villa, the day after, I started to feel mild symptoms. A bit of pain in my throat so I asked to have a Covid test and it was positive. Now I’m fine and well. For sure it was a strange week for me and also the players, as they’re used to having training sessions with me. Not only with my staff. But it’s ok because my staff are doing a great job. I attended the sessions from a distance, and I think on Saturday I stay with my players on the bench. Given the length of time from my Covid test I think I could stay on the bench on Saturday.
What kind of impact is Matt Doherty’s absence going to have on your side?
This is really bad news for us. You know very well the improvement in our team and it’s a pity because to lose a player like him for the rest of the season is not good. Not good for us, and if you add Tanganga and Skipp that are not available for us… this is bad news for us on one hand. On the other hand, we have the solution to try and cope with this situation. But at the end of the season there are only seven games to go and Sessegnon is ready and is in the squad, and there’s Emerson and Reguilon. We have to try and cope in the best possible way until the end of the season. But for sure to lose players like Matthew Doherty and Tanganga, and also Skipp is not easy for us.
Are you feeling a lot more confident now in the top-four race?
Yeah but I started to think about our position, but my team was able to stay in the race. Not only one week ago, two weeks ago. In the right moment I understood this team was able to stay in this type of race. I said to you with honesty and I say to you now that the team is ready, ready to fight until the end in this race. This race is not easy, it’s very important because to finish in the top four would mean a very good result for the club. Yesterday and two days ago we watched how important it is to play Champions League, how fascinating are these type of games and I’m sure there is a great desire in my players to be protagonists in this competition but we know very well there are other teams very strong. Arsenal, United, West Ham, Wolverhampton are in this same race with us but we want to fight until the end and we will see what happens at the end of the season.
Is catching Chelsea in third a realistic aim?
First of all we have to think to ourselves and to look to ourselves and not the other opponent. Arsenal has one game more in their hand than us but there is not only Arsenal in this race. There is also United, West Ham, Wolverhampton. In this race you can finish first, in this race, if you don’t make a lot of mistakes. It is important to feel the right moment to push. For us, Saturday it will be a really important game because we are going to play against a really strong team. We played in the last period twice against them and in both games we struggled a lot because they were organised, have good players, a good manager. The last game they won against Arsenal. I watched the game and they deserved to win. They weren’t lucky, they deserved to win. For this reason, in this moment it will be very important not to make big mistakes, try to get three points also if you know very well the game will be very difficult against Brighton. But we are working very well, the players and my staff are working very well, I have seen great focus in this week and hopefully we try to get three points in this race on Saturday it will be very important to put pressure on the others.
Does Doherty need surgery?
No I think the first visit with the doctor, the doctor said he can recover without surgery but in these types of situation it is important to have a different opinion and then make the best decision. Now we are talking about seven, eight weeks before to recover and for this reason his season has finished. It’s a pity because Doherty was an important player for us.
What is the upturn in form down to?
Crossed fingers but it’s important when you arrive at the end of the season, the last 10 games in every league are very important because then you can write something important or not and to find the right consistency was really important for us and we need to continue to work this way and to work very hard. I repeat the game vs Brighton won’t be easy, I know very well. We are trying to give right message to our players because for us is a really important game. Brighton is doing very well in his league, they can play to enjoy the game and for this reason your mind is free to play football and to try get three points. We have to pay great attention as they are a really good team. We have the right pressure because we are fighting for a race, for a place in Champions League and for this reason we have to show we are improving in all aspects. Not only tactical, technical aspects but also in the mentality because a strong team has a strong mentality,
Are Harry Kane, Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski on form the best front three in the Premier League right now?
I think the whole team performed very well against Aston Villa. That type of game away with that atmosphere was very, very difficult for us to win. For this reason I tell you the whole team performed very well. For sure when we have Harry, Sonny, Deki in this form, it’s good for us. It’s good for us because they are talented players but it’s important to repeat the whole team because the whole team lose, the whole team win. We’ll do the same next game.
How important is momentum going into these last seven games?
It’s really important. It’s really important because during a season there are many moments that you have to feel the important moments during your season. Now for us is an important moment. In this race for a place in the Champions League is an important moment. Not many games to play, only seven, every game has to be a final for us. You know very well the importance of the game bring also more pressure. But the pressure has to be normal for us, a normality for a club like Tottenham, for the players of Tottenham. We have to cope in this way and also to be good in all aspects. Because now is a good moment for us and we are showing we are coping well with this type of pressure, this desire to stay in this race and now have to continue. We have to continue to play a good game with difficulty that for sure we will find on Saturday. I repeat if someone thinks that Tottenham can’t find difficulty again Brighton, I can tell you no we will find big difficulty. But at the same time we have to show to be strong, overcome this difficulty and to try get three points
Does watching the Champions League games over past two nights really make you miss the competition?
You know very well Champions League is a competition every club, every player, every manager want to play in. For this reason it’s important to have this great goal because change your life if next season you are going to play in Champions League instead to play Europa League, instead to play Conference League or instead you play nothing in this type of competition. This situation has to give us a great push and great desire to finish the season the best possible way.
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