Antonio Conte has insisted that Tottenham Hotspur are competing against the likes of Arsenal, Leicester City, West Ham and Aston Villa, rather than with the best teams in the Premier League.
Two back-to-back home losses against Southampton and Wolves have seen Spurs drop to eighth place in the table and the defeats have come as a major blow to the North London club’s hopes of getting into the Champions League.
While Spurs are still mathematically in the race for the fourth spot, sitting just seven points behind Manchester United with three games in hand over the Red Devils, Conte does not seem to think that finishing fourth is a realistic target for the club this season.
Earlier this week, the Tottenham head coach urged the Spurs fans to reset their expectations, given where the team is at the moment (Sky Sports).
The Italian has now stressed the competitive nature of the Premier League, insisting that the Lilywhties are not battling with the top clubs in the division at the moment.
The 52-year-old told beIN Sport: “The quality in this league is very high. There is not much space for teams to become the top teams, every single team wants to improve. Not only Tottenham but Arsenal, Leicester and West Ham.
“Even Aston Villa, Newcastle, teams like Brighton, like Wolverhampton. They want to improve and in this moment, we have to fight with these. But not with the top teams – but we need to have the desire to fight.”
Spurs Web Opinion
It is apparent based on Conte’s comments over the last week that he is trying to take the pressure off himself and the team by readjusting expectations for the season. However, missing out on fourth will be seen as a failure by the fans, and rightly so, given that none of the teams around us are in particularly good shape.