Antonio Conte says Spurs need to ‘avoid these ups and downs’ if they are to be a successful team after being questioned on his recent outbursts.
Spurs have produced a real mixed bag of results of late, earning well-deserved praise after beating league leader Manchester City, only to follow it up with a 1-0 loss to relegation-threatened, Burnley.
The North London side bounced back to put four past Leeds, only to then be knocked out of the FA Cup by Championship side Middlesbrough in midweek.
Speaking after the Burnley defeat, Antonio Conte sparked fears among the Spurs support as he suggested that he could quit the club, though seemed less emotional in the aftermath of his side’s FA Cup exit.
Speaking ahead of Monday night’s game against Everton, Conte admitted that he doesn’t like Spurs’ ups and downs, but says it is ‘impossible’ to ‘change the story’ of the club’s recent history in just a few months.
“My reaction was that I was disappointed and frustrated for the result,” he told a press conference. “For sure, to have this up and down I don’t like. I always said this from my first day when I arrived.
“Tottenham’s story is this, many ups and downs, but to be competitive, to try to win something, to try to fight for something important and become a strong team, the first thing that has to happen is to be stable and avoid these ups and downs.
“To do this and to change this type of situation that is happening for many, many years in Tottenham, it’s not simple. In a short time it’s impossible to do this, not only for me but I think for any manager or coach to come in and change the story in one second.
“Especially when this club for 20 years has this type of situation. For sure, sometimes you have to be upset. I think it’s normal to be angry when we lost. One thing is to be angry when we lose and another thing is to speak about my reaction and emotion. They are two different situations.
“To avoid this situation, I try to keep every time the same behaviour, the same way to face this press conference. I think it’s normal sometimes you’re angry and other times you can face the situation in a different way. But for sure we have to be disappointed. Me, the players and the club because we got eliminated by Middlesbrough.
“It’s a pity because FA Cup could have been a target for us, in our minds at least to keep us focussed and concentrated on our target. And now we have only the second part of the season to play.”
Asked about the mood around the training ground, the Italian said that the side’s commitment was ‘very high’, but said that it takes ‘more than commitment’ at certain times during matches.
“On the training ground, the commitment is always very high,” he said. “I said to you before, it’s not enough to have only a good commitment during training. You arrive at a point during the game when you to put something more than commitment.”
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