Tottenham needs just a point from their final Premier League game to secure a Champions League spot for the next campaign. Antonio Conte’s side faces a trip to Carrow Road, facing an already-relegated Norwich side. When the Italian arrived in north London, Spurs had struggled to find momentum and Conte’s impact has been massive, making improvements to individual players and team performances. Therefore to now have nearly secured a spot in the top four is massive.
Antonio Conte said: “To finish in the top four it means a lot for everybody because top players, top coaches and top clubs want to play this competition and not other competitions. My expectation to face a team that want to try to play a good game, this is their last game in the Premier League this season for them. I think they want to play a good game and to try to make our life tough. They have to play their game, and the most important thing is that we need to know this, we have to play our game because the target for us is very important, and we have to try to do it,” the 52-year-old added.
Smith also spoke about Spurs in his press conference, praising the Italian for his past success.
Dean Smith said: “I think he has come in and done a really good job. He has done that wherever he has been. I remember playing against him with my Brentford team when he was at Chelsea. Obviously, I worked with John Terry at [Aston] Villa for three years, and he told me how good a coach he was. Won the Premier League with Chelsea, went back to Italy, and won the league with Inter Milan. I picked Ashley Young’s brains at the start of this season about how well he had done as well, and he certainly seems to have that Midas touch at the moment.”
The 51-year-old identified Tottenham’s physical improvement as Conte has taken them from having some of the worst fitness stats in the league to some of the best. Smith indicated that it was something he noticed in the two side’s last meeting, which ended in a 3-0 victory for Spurs. As everyone is very aware of, two of Tottenham’s biggest threats are Harry Kane and Son Heung-min, which has been made even more dangerous with the arrival of Dejan Kulusevski. Smith explained that he doesn’t need to
Dean Smith said: “Put too many videos out for the players to see because they watch them [Kane and Son] every week. Son is one of the best players at making deep runs into the space behind you. Harry Kane is an unbelievable finisher, but he can play as a nine or ten. We’ve seen him play as a ten many times before. They have a threat all over the pitch, and it’s something our players have to be ready for.”
