Antonio Conte has admitted he was fearful of Tottenham when he was in charge of Chelsea, and insisted the Lilywhites can once again challenge for top honours in the near future.
Under Mauricio Pochettino, Spurs not only cemented themselves as a regular top-four team but they also put in a sustained challenge for the Premier League title for two seasons in a row.
It was Conte’s Chelse who pipped the Lilywhites to the title in the 2016/17 season, courtesy of an impressive run in the second half of the campaign.
Tottenham also fell one step short of becoming European Champions a couple of years after that in 2019 but the club’s decline since then has been rather steep.
Conte pointed to the loss of experienced players as the reason behind the North Londoners’ change in fortunes.
The Spurs head coach told Football.London: “I think in this moment in this specific period I’m talking about.
“In the past, Tottenham were a very strong team. I remember them very well. When Leicester won the title, Tottenham were the first one to challenge them.
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“Also when I won with Chelsea, Tottenham were the first team to challenge us. We were scared about them because the other teams were really strong and in that period Tottenham were in a position with the top.
“Now for sure, the team has dropped because the team has lost many important players. Also experienced players who played many years who know the club and the environment.
“Now is a moment you have to try to build again and to go step by step to improve the level and try to be close with the teams that may be in the past were behind.”
Conte pointed out that even Jurgen Klopp needed time to turn Liverpool into the force they now are but insisted that Tottenham are becoming a better team with each passing month.
He added: “In the past Liverpool were behind Tottenham. Don’t forget Jurgen Klopp before he won with Liverpool, he spent many many years. I remember Liverpool didn’t qualify for the Champions League. It means this league is very difficult.
“Now we understand very well our reality. Not just our reality but the reality of the other top clubs.
“We need to work very hard, don’t make any mistakes when we go to sign new players to try to improve the team, to make the squad stronger, because in this moment, we are a bit far from the top teams.
“But in the same way, honestly I’m seeing a lot of improvements over the last part of the season. For many aspects, the players are improving. They want to improve their level. I’m seeing this desire. When this happens, it means the team is going better and better.”
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The problem is that Conte might not have the patience that Pochettino had at Spurs or Klopp had at Liverpool as the Italian is not a project manager and does not tend to stick around for more than two or three years.
So, despite his lip service to patience, I suspect he will start to get frustrated if Spurs are not pushing the top two or three teams next season. That is why the club needs to make a big push in the transfer market this summer.
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