Antonio Conte has claimed that while he is satisfied with the progress Tottenham have made, he would like to see his team make better use of the ball.
Tottenham have had their best start to a top-flight season since the 2009/10 campaign, having picked up 10 points from a possible 12 so far.
What is even more encouraging is the fact that the Lilywhites lost three of the four corresponding fixtures that they played last season – home clashes against Southampton and Wolves, and away at Chelsea.
However, Spurs’ displays, barring the opening day win over Southampton, have been anything but stellar, with the opposition having periods of dominance in all of their last three matches.
Conte insisted that his players are now showing they are mentally strong, and praised the attitude and commitment they have displayed in training.
However, the Italian did admit that there is still a big room for improvement, particularly when his side have possession of the ball.
Conte told Football.London: “The start was positive because to get 10 points in four games and also play away against Chelsea means you had a really good start.
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“But you know very well we are working to continue to improve in many aspects and in this team we have space for a big improvement.
“Sometimes I think we also have to grow in personality. To go straight into the game. To understand very well the level of the game. But honestly, I’m seeing a lot of improvement in this team.
“This team now is showing to be strong, to be strong mentally. In my opinion, still not enough because we have space for improvement in this aspect.
“Then we have to continue to improve, especially with the ball to try to bring into the game what we try during the training session.
“But honestly for the commitment, the attitude, the behaviour, the improvement I’ve seen in nine months I have to be very satisfied.”
Spurs Web Opinion
On the evidence of what we have seen over the last six months or so, Spurs are extremely hard to play against once we go a goal up. The main concern last season was our inability to come back from a goal down and create chances against a deep-lying defence.
However, the firepower that Conte now has on the bench has helped resolve a bit of that issue. We also saw in the second half against Wolves and in the final 15-20 minutes against Chelsea that we can press the opposition high up the pitch if we want to do so.
Overall, the fact that we have picked up 10 points from 12 games without being at our best, is a huge positive. However, the big test will come over the next three weeks, with matches coming thick and fast.
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