‘Absolutely incredible’ – Former Man United man makes Tottenham top four claim

Former Manchester United full-back Paul Parker has lavished praise on Antonio Conte for transforming Tottenham Hotspur and believes the Italian has now made the North Londoners genuine contenders for a top-four finish.

Following Tottenham’s 3-0 home defeat to Manchester United at the end of October, it looked as though this season was going to be another write-off for the Lilywhites.

However, Spurs pulled the plug on the Nuno experiment and replaced him with Conte, and the team’s performances have seen an immediate improvement.

Tottenham now sit five points off Arsenal in fourth place but have three games in hand over the Gunners. Spurs also sealed their progression into the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday after overcoming West Ham 2-1.

Despite the club’s improvement under Conte, Roy Keane said a few days ago that he does not see Tottenham as genuine threats for a top-four spot.

Parker has now disagreed with the assessment of his former Man Utd teammate, insisting no other manager could have turned around Spurs’ fortunes in as little time as Conte has.

The pundit wrote in his column for Eurosport: “What Antonio Conte has done at Spurs has been absolutely incredible with the players he has at his disposal.

“His players are all on board and he’s got people doing it simple. There were too many players who thought they were better than they were.

“He’s sorted them out and eradicated a few issues that Tottenham have had. It’s amazing that they are the same team that Jose Mourinho had.

“Spurs are in contention for a Champions League spot because he is there. Any other manager would not be able to do the same.”

Spurs Web Opinion

While the results under Conte have been pleasing, what has surprised me more is how quickly the Italian has transformed the side.

We have gone from covering the least ground on average under Nuno to covering more ground than any other team in the Premier League (The Times).

That suggests that the players have completely bought into Conte’s methods and ideas.

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