Cristian Stellini on what he is finding ‘strange’ since taking charge of Spurs

Tottenham Hotspur’s assistant manager Cristian Stellini has been speaking to the press ahead of the weekend’s Premier League action, and commented on how unusual an experience it is for him to see the amount of affection the fans have for the him.

Stellini is a long-time collaborator of Antonio Conte’s, having worked with the Spurs boss previously at both Juventus and Inter Milan.

With Conte undergoing surgery earlier this month, Stellini stepped in to oversee the game against Manchester City. It was a successful outing for the assistant, too, as he helped to mastermind a hard-fought 1-0 win over the reigning champions.

Conte returned to the dugout last weekend, but saw his Tottenham side crumble to a 4-1 defeat away at Leicester City, before losing 1-0 away at AC Milan on Tuesday. The 53-year-old has since remained in Italy to further his post-op recovery.

This leaves Stellini in charge once more, and as the club prepare for the arrival of West Ham on Sunday, Conte’s assistant has reflected on how strange it is to feel so much love from the Spurs fans.

He told Football.London: “It’s strange for me. Not many people know the assistant. Who knows the assistant? This is a strange thing for me. I repeat that I’m not alone though, there are many people who work with me. Ryan Mason was important every time and will be this weekend.”

“He is important for me and all the staff, [Constantino] Coratti, [Stefano] Bruno and [Marco] Savorani for the keepers. What we are learning now is that Antonio takes responsibility with great character. He asks the assistants but he takes the decisions. Now we have take responsibility together,” Stellini added.

“We’re more like a team. When Antonio is here, he will take decisions, he takes the responsibility and sometimes doesn’t explain why,” he concluded.

Spurs Web Opinion

Cristian Stellini has made it very easy for the fans to fall in love with him; he is bright, has great energy and passion, and most importantly, has won football matches for us. I’m sure he will continue that impressive record at the weekend.