After the defeat to Brighton, the mantra from Conte and his captain Hugo Lloris was very similar – particularly when it came to the phrase ‘if you can’t win then don’t lose’ which Eric Dier also used in his post-match interview, which indicates that Conte had drummed that message home to the players in the changing room after the dismal display.
Hugo Lloris said: “It was a very average performance to be honest. The only regret is that in that type of game if you can’t win, you don’t lose. That’s the key. We are talking about consistency. It can happen to have a bad day but to throw away all the effort that we made in the last few weeks by losing this game is a big disappointment. The only thing is to look forward now. We’ve got one week now to prepare for the next battle. It’s important to analyse well the game and analyse well the performance and learn from this game because I think it will happen again, this type of team, already safe in the Premier League, that play with freedom, they come here just to compete and enjoy the competition, without the pressure of the results. In our side we play for big things so we can only blame ourselves and continue to work. We are talking right now about the game but we’ll see tomorrow and you need 24 to 48 hours to digest mentally. It’s a big disappointment and then you get back on track by working hard, by preparing for the next game as best as we can and be ready for the battle. Today there is plenty of questions about the performance that we need to answer, why we could not increase the intensity, why we could not change the rhythm at some point in the game and then today we were a bit too slow in transition by passing the ball and we lost a lot of easy balls. This doesn’t help the confidence individually and of course for the team. The atmosphere was so great. The warm-up before the game, we didn’t use well this positive energy and we can understand well the frustration from the fans. We are so very disappointed and we need another run of wins, if they are six games left, we need to continue to win.”
Conte believes that his Tottenham team will only become the one he wants by learning from matches like this and he used his mantra for the day in his press conference.
Antonio Conte said: “Certainly not a good result for us and a lesson that we can learn today that there are games that if you’re not able to win, you’re not to lose. It was very clear that today wasn’t our day, but I understand we wanted to try and get three points because it was very important for us to get three points playing before our rivals in the race for the Champions League. Sometimes, we need to feel. Today the game was very difficult because it was a tactical game for both sides. Brighton were very good to close every space, but we helped our opponent because we moved the ball slowly. We are able to do much better than today.”
Too many Tottenham players on Sunday looked like they had gone into the game believing their own hype after the flurry of four and five-goal victories that had pundits singing their praises. They forgot that intensity has been the key to all of those wins, getting stronger as the game progresses. That Tottenham have already beaten Brighton twice may have also played a part in their complacency but this was a Seagulls side with more confidence and each of those previous matches was still a battle. The key for Conte is that his players need to learn to live with and manage the pressure that comes from the situations they want to be in.
Antonio Conte said: “Brighton were good to close the space, but if you move the ball in a slow way, you help the opponent to close the space, they would not be able to occupy if you move the ball quickly. I think that you have to try to do much better than today. We have to know that we are in this race for the Champions League. I think not many people thought this, but we are in this race because we showed that we deserved to stay there. Now we have to continue. Once you are in a good position in the table, you have to keep this position. It’s a good opportunity for us also to cope with pressure, because when you arrive and then you know that you stay in a fantastic target for you. You’re winning the league, and you are first, and then you have to cope with the pressure, with the other results, and I think this is a good opportunity for us to improve because I think this group of players need it, no? They needed this type of examination for improvement.”
This was a bad day at the office for Conte and his players and now they will sit back and watch a week ahead unfold that will dictate the state of the top battle around them.
