Antonio Conte has revealed he sometimes has to shout at Cristian Romero to keep him focussed, as the defender picks up some unnecessary yellow cards.
The Spurs boss claims his Argentine centre-back must improve on staying concentrated from the first whistle until the last, but added that Romero has the qualities to become a great defender.
He was also keen to point out that Romero understands Conte shouts at him because he wants what is best for the team on the pitch.
In the Premier League, Romero has eight yellow cards from just 15 matches. Across all competitions, that increases to 10 yellows and one red card from 23 games (TransferMarkt).
Of course, a player of Romero’s style is always going to pick up the odd booking from his high-pressure, aggressive defending, but Conte seemingly wants him to work on his concentration in these moments.
Conte said (Football London): “Cristian is a player who has to be focused in every moment of a game. If he’s good, he’s focussed from the start, form the first to last second of the game. And he’s a really important player for us.
“He has a bit to improve in this situation, to be focussed on every moment of the game. Sometimes he gets a yellow card he can avoid.
“He has to improve in his aspect, to be focused from the start to the end Sometimes you can’t explain this in a good manner. You have to shout!
“But he’s a good guy and he understands that what I do is always best for the team and himself. He has quality to be a great defender so it’s important to find the right way to improve the player.”
Spurs Web Opinion:
It’s a fine line with Romero. You want to teach him when to and when not to dive in. But you also don’t want to coach the edge out of his game, because that is what makes him so effective in a back three.