Conte reveals improvements he wants to see from Romero after hair-pull incident

Tottenham Hotspur head coach Antonio Conte has revealed that he is regularly in talks with Cristian Romero to help the defender improve his style of play and reach the top of his game.

Romero was involved in several fiery incidents with Chelsea’s Marc Cucurella during the 2-2 London derby.

In the initial stages of the game, the Spanish wing-back caught Romero with his studs on the centre-back’s thigh, which looks to have injured the Argentinian (Gaston Edul).

The high-profile clash occurred in the latter stages of the Premier League derby when Romero pulled Cucurella’s hair during a corner, which just preceded Harry Kane’s equaliser.

The South American is known for being quite aggressive, as was evident from the mark he left on that particular London derby.

There was even a point last season when Conte publically criticised Romero for picking up too many yellow cards (Football.London), and the 24-year-old defender raised his game despite maintaining his aggressiveness without getting penalised after the boss’ outcry.

Conte also conveyed last month how Romero can improve by maintaining “a hot heart and a cold mind” (Football.London).

Now, the man in charge has provided his latest assessment on the 2021 Copa America winner ahead of Tottenham’s match against Wolverhampton Wanderers tomorrow, although Romero will play no part due to injury.

The Italian boss suggested that Romero should try to understand situations better and plan his actions accordingly. Conte added that he has regular chats with the central defender and always tries to help him develop his game.

Conte told Football.London in the pre-match press conference: “About Cristian, I speak a lot with him. For sure, he’s a player who’s really strong physically.

“He has no fear of anyone but for sure he has to be always really focused to understand the situation, to try to always be better, to improve the situations he needs to improve, but I speak a lot with him, I speak a lot with my players about being strong – but always in a good way.”

Spurs Web Opinion:

Conte is certainly not asking Romero to tone down his aggressiveness as he has advised his players to kill their opponents in a sporting way shortly after his verdict on the defender. The 52-year-old manager is simply demanding the centre-half to read the game better in the future.

After all, Romero pulling Cucurella’s hair could have resulted in a foul, which would have prevented Kane’s goal from occurring against the Blues. Fortunately for Spurs, that is not what happened, but Romero must realise what could have unravelled, and should make himself better by refining his game moving forward.

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