1 year ago
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Antonio Conte has accused the Tottenham support of being out of step with the reality of the club’s project, saying their lack of patience with regard to trophies has affected the players, created the wrong atmosphere and made his job impossible.
The manager, who appears certain to leave at the end of the season when his contract expires – maybe even sooner – did not hold back during an explosive media briefing, adding that he would not kill himself by taking everything on his shoulders.
It was the latest indication of how the death of his close friend Gian Piero Ventrone, who was on his staff as the fitness coach, had affected him. Ventrone died last October. He had leukaemia.
Conte saw Spurs’s final shot at silverware for the season closed off on Wednesday in the 0-0 home draw with Milan, which added up to a 1-0 Champions League last-16 aggregate defeat. The club’s last trophy was the 2008 League Cup.
Conte was exasperated at the boos that greeted his late substitution of the winger Dejan Kulusevski for the defender Davinson Sánchez, and it was after he spelled out his reasons for it that he laid bare his wider feelings. In terms of the change, which had come after the defender Cristian Romero was sent off, he said he had three other forwards on the pitch, plus the attacking right-back Pedro Porro and so he had to adjust the balance.
“Here, the patience has finished for the fans,” Conte said. “The fans want to win [a] trophy. Stop. And then you have to find the right solution to make the fans happy and to win [a] trophy. Because the patience of the fans has finished. And we feel this. I feel this. The players feel this. For sure this [does] not help the situation.
“There are many players, also young players, that need to go step by step to grow. We are trying to build something important but if you don’t have patience, it is un-useful [unworkable].”
Conte has said repeatedly that the club, who want to make smart signings and develop players, are not yet ready to win trophies; they need time and patience. He has told this to the board on numerous occasions. Conte added that he had a good relationship with the chairman, Daniel Levy, and the managing director, Fabio Paratici. He suggested that they understand but the supporters do not.
“We are far from being competitive to fight to win,” Conte said. “I say we need time, we need patience. I see that here the environment [around the club] has no patience or maybe the environment doesn’t want to understand the reality.
“The club has the patience. But the problem is the club also has to make happy the fans because the fans for many, many years are waiting to win something. I understand that it’s not easy for the club, not easy to invest a lot of money and you are [not] sure to win. Maybe your probability improves but we know we have to fight against top, top teams.
“You have to create the right atmosphere … the right unity, the right spirit, to be solid, for everybody to have the same idea. Or you have to believe in a miracle and there is a big, big job to do here. I can put it all on myself but I don’t want to kill myself. I have to take all the considerations, also for myself. If I have to put the stress and pressure only to myself, it is not right.
“It’s difficult for me to realise [live] this situation because I am putting [in] everything, me and the staff. At the same time, I understand that maybe it’s not enough. If I have to become [for] the people to take as a target? No. I am not this person. You understand?”
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Conte, who described the length of the deal he signed in November 2021 as “strange”, feels that his reputation as a serial winner has – perversely – worked against him.
“I remember very well when I arrived, everybody said: ‘Now we have Conte, he won in the past so now we are going to win,’” he said. “But we have to win together. We have to create the right situation. If I was a good coach but without a win in my career, I think it would be the perfect situation to enjoy working and growing together. But my past is different. It brings high expectation. Maybe it penalises me.”
Conte described Richarlison as having been “selfish” with the public complaint he made about not starting the second leg against Milan. He said the striker had apologised and Conte used the episode to highlight the need for togetherness.
As for Richarlison’s comment that it had been a “shit season” for him, Conte agreed. “He’s right because his season is no good,” Conte said. “He scored zero goals [in the Premier League] … only two goals in Champions League.”
Conte caused eyebrows to raise when he said that Arnaut Danjuma had been a club signing in January, a player who “maybe has not specific characteristics to be a No 10” – in other words to fit into his system. He also confirmed that Yves Bissouma would be out for the rest of the season with his ankle injury.
Really, though, Conte had already more than delivered on the news line. Spurs face Nottingham Forest at home on Saturday. All eyes and ears will be on how the fans react to him.
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