Antonio Conte has admitted that he has been frustrated at not being able to field his best team over recent weeks, owing to the injuries that Tottenham have had to deal with.
The mood around Spurs has completely changed this week following the club’s bright start to the season, with the Lilywhites being bought crashing down to earth with back-to-back defeats against Manchester United and Newcastle United.
Conte has also had to deal with his fair share of injuries, particularly in the forward line, with Dejan Kulusevski and Richarlison out with hamstring and calf injuries respectively.
Lucas Moura has also only recently returned from an injury lay-off, which has forced the Tottenham boss’ hand into playing with a 3-5-2, with Harry Kane partnering Son Heung-min upfront.
Spurs were also without two other key players in Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Cristian Romero for the Magpies’ visit to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.
Speaking after his side’s 2-1 loss, Conte admitted that the Lilywhites need time to build a strong enough squad to be able to cope with these types of setbacks.
When asked if he has the time and patience to build a successful project at Tottenham, he told Football.London: “Yeah, for sure, this type of situation makes me frustrated because I would like to play this type of game, also in the Champions League, with the best team and then to have on the bench three, four or five good substitutions and not to try to invent situations you understand?
“But we knew this, and when I spoke before, I always said look we have just started the process for Tottenham to bring Tottenham into the best position to be more competitive to fight for something important, we have just started.
“For this reason, we need to cope with this situation. For me, it is not easy, it is not simple, but we have to cope and to manage the situation with experience and stay together.
“Today I don’t have complaints about the attitude, will and desire of the players because every single player performed. The attitude and effort was really strong and really big, but sometimes it is not enough. Tonight it was not enough to avoid a loss.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Spurs fans will do well to listen to Conte’s point about needing to stick together during these difficult moments.
It makes no sense to have these polarising debates on whether this is purely Conte’s fault or down to the lack of quality in our squad.
The season is a marathon, not a sprint. We need to back the side and help them come through this difficult spell.