Football.London’s Alasdair Gold has revealed that Antonio Conte threatened to keep his players at the Spurs lodge for three straight days if they lost against Leeds on Saturday.
Conte was certainly not a happy man after Tottenham’s loss to Burnley last week and voiced his discontent publicly in his post-match press conference (Football.London), even hinting that he may not be the right man to turn things around.
The 52-year-old got the response he was looking for from his players against Leeds, with Spurs emerging 4-0 winners from Elland Road on Saturday.
Gold has now revealed that Conte threatened his players with the prospect of keeping them at Hotspur Way until their match against Middlesbrough if they did not beat Leeds.
The players would likely not have been able to see their family for those three days and would have remained together to train as a unit until the trip to Boro, but the punishment was not required after their win on Saturday.
Gold further adds that some within the club believe that the current group of players respond better ‘to a guiding arm around them’ as Mauricio Pochettino provided rather than to a hard taskmaster like Conte.
Spurs Web Opinion
I certainly do not know as well as Conte does what motivates athletes who are at the top of their profession to succeed. So, far be it from me to question the Italian’s methods.
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However, basic human psychology suggests that people tend to become disillusioned with leaders who use such draconian techniques.
While it may yield the desired result in the short run, it will likely lead to players falling out with Conte if he continues ruling with an iron fist.
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