antonio conte happy
How do you sum up that performance?
The performance, I have to be honest. I think maybe tonight the energy was really poor for us. Don’t forget it was the 12th game in a really short period. The games we played in the past, every game was really really difficult and we lost a lot of mental energy in the Champions League and in the Premier League physical energy. In our minds and hearts we came with the desire to overcome the opposition and for this reason if you ask me if something was wrong about my players I tell you not… because I have only to say thanks to my players. They are really tired. I tried to manage the situation, for example in midfield with Hojbjerg in the first half and Bentancur in the second half because they were really tired with the risk of injuries. The same with Harry Kane and with Harry, until this morning we waited to see if he could start or not. But in this situation he was the only striker for us. For this reason I can only say thanks for the availability they show me. In our hearts and minds was the desire to go ahead in this competition. But the difference was the energy. It was really different between us and Nottingham Forest.
Was Harry Kane keen to start?
Other players maybe they could tell me, ‘I’m tired and don’t want to play and help the team’. When I speak, I have a group of players who are men and then good players, and because of this. Another could be selfish and think for himself because in one week they have to play the World Cup. Instead, Harry Kane showed to be a really good man. But the same for Hojbjerg and Bentancur and Perisic and Dier, another who played a lot of games. We faced a really bad situation with injuries and arrived at the end in real difficulty. Now we try to rest, to recover injury. Good news, I liked the way Richarlison came in and the effort he made showed he has recovered. The same for Deki and I hope to have them to start on Saturday. To pick them in the starting Xi would be great for us, because it is Important game on Saturday. If we finished this cycle with qualification in the Champions League and a good position in the table it would be in my opinion really good.
Was there an injury concern with Kane?
No, it was a problem of tiredness. Really, really tired and yesterday we had a soft training session and at one point he stopped himself to recover energy. But he’s okay, it’s only fatigue but it’s normal because Harry played every game. When you have a player like him it’s difficult to decide you don’t play with him. When you have a player like him it’s really difficult to decide you don’t play with him. In this situation, also if I wanted to start with another player it was impossible because of injuries to Richarlison, Kulu and Lucas Moura, from the start of the season. We’re not having Lucas Moura from the start of the season but no one is talking about this. Then two weeks ago, also Sonny. Today honestly it was really difficult if Kane told me ‘coach maybe it’s better I don’t start today because I risk a lot to have an injury’. But I repeat it’s normal, what’s happening in his period is really strange. In the future I hope we don’t face another situation like this. Not only for me, I think these are the thoughts of every coach, every manager. Then for sure if you have a strong, strong squad you can build a strong squad in the years and we have just started to try to build a good squad. Then you can face this much better, this situation with these injuries. For us it was difficult because I repeat many injuries and in this moment to play the same players was a risk.
Was Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg ok?
Pierre is another player who played in every game, every game. I tried to manage the situation to spread the fatigue between Hojbjerg and Bentancur. We are talking about two players who have played every game. Only for this he played only the first half and Rodrigo played the second. I decided this with the players. I repeat, in this moment, I can tell my players thanks for their availability, because other players, selfish players who think of themselves, could tell their coach they have a problem or aren’t available. Instead they are thinking of Tottenham and instead showing to be men and for this reason tonight I am a bit disappointed because for the will and the desire they deserved much more than to be going out of this competition.
It’s the eighth time in a row the team hasn’t scored in the first half and it’s now five domestic games in a row they’ve been 2-0 down, why is that happening and how do you change that to get them starting games better?
We know, we see the situation, and in the last period many times, maybe seven games we were 1-0 down and in some games 2-0 down. I think that can happen. In this moment, we have to stay and to find positive things because if you go to negative things, I think on one side it is okay in the right moment, but this is not the right moment because the period is really, really tough and they are losing a lot of physical and mental energy. They are losing a lot of things to be stronger with my players
I prefer to analyse negative and positive situations, but I think it’s better to underline the positive things in this moment. Now our target is to recover well, be focused on Saturday and show to be strong.
On Saturday, also our fans have to play a really good part in the game. They have to push us from the start until the end because if we get a win and three points it means that we finish a really tough period with an important qualification in the Champions League and a good position in the table. I think this could be good for us.
