Antonio Conte has claimed that he could be Tottenham’s version of Jurgen Klopp but only if he is given sufficient time and backing.
Tottenham travel to Anfield to take on a Liverpool side who are widely acknowledged to be one of the best teams in world football.
However, that was far from the case when Klopp took over back in 2015, with the Reds even struggling to qualify for the Champions League.
Conte was asked whether there were any comparisons to be made between Liverpool when Klopp began his work and his own arrival at Tottenham this season, and the Italian insisted that he requires investment in order to replicate the success the German has had.
The Spurs head coach told Football.London: “I don’t know but if I was sure this type of situation can happen, I sign, you understand?
“But also the time for Liverpool was easier than now because when Liverpool started this work with Jurgen, they were a top team but not in a way they are now so consolidated with an important manager, always the same team, big investment, big money spent on the transfer market.
“They had also the right space to improve and reach this. Now, in my opinion, I am talking about this league, it is more difficult because the space is not so big.
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“To reduce this gap, you need to spend a lot of money because you need to buy important players. You have to know this otherwise you cannot reduce this gap and hope always for a miracle.”
Klopp recently put pen to paper on a new contract until 2026, and the 54-year-old will have completed more than a decade at Anfield if he fulfils that deal.
When Conte was asked if he sees himself being at a club for a decade or if he prefers short-term projects, he responded: “First of all, I think it depends on the desire of the club.
“I think Liverpool put Jurgen in charge seven years ago, they wanted to build something important and to bring Liverpool again to fight for Champions League, to win titles and to continue the important story of Liverpool.
“I think maybe he signed a contract for three years and then extended. For sure, if you want to create something important you need time, you need patience especially if you start to work with a team that start behind the top positions. It is not easy. You need time.
“I think in these seven months, we did a really good job with the club and the opportunity we had also in January to sign two good players for us, to help us, to improve the quality of the team. I think we did a good job but for sure you need time.”
Conte also pointed out that Liverpool fell short of their targets during Klopp’s first few years in charge and that it took time for the former Borussia Dortmund boss to turn things around.
The 52-year-old insisted that winning silverware in England is quite complicated due to the number of top clubs in the county.
He added: “Liverpool is a clear example. I don’t want to say something wrong but maybe they struggled, no? They struggle at the start of Klopp’s path with Liverpool, also to qualify for the Champions League. Maybe they needed four years before they started to win.
“Don’t forget that in England, it is more difficult because in England you find in this moment, four teams that if they don’t have a bad season, they are there to fight for the Premier League, the Carabao Cup, the FA Cup, Champions League, UEFA Cup.
“English teams are present in every competition, Champions League, Europa League, Conference League, Premier League and the final of the Carabao Cup was with Chelsea and Liverpool, now in the FA Cup, Chelsea and Liverpool, the Premier League is a fight with Liverpool and Manchester.
“It is not simple because you have a master in front of you, you need time, you need a big investment because you have to spend a lot of money if you want to be competitive and try to reduce this gap otherwise you have to accept to stay in the middle and finish.”
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Klopp was not handed much money to spend by the owners in his first couple of years at Liverpool and was patient enough to build a project from the ground up.
No matter what Conte says publicly, his career shows that he is not the sort of coach to show that level of patience.
The Italian is going to want to fast-forward the project into a two or three-year one, and he will thus demand some serious backing over the next few transfer windows.
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