Eric Dier has explained Antonio Conte wants his defenders to ‘break the lines and be aggressive’ in his system at Tottenham.
Spurs maintained their position in the top four race with an important 3-1 win over West Ham on Sunday, closing the gap on Arsenal down to three points.
Heung-min Son scored twice against the Hammers after Kurt Zouma’s early own goal to make it back-to-back Premier League wins for Spurs for the first time since December.
Conte’s men were assured defensively, particularly Cristian Romero, who was quick to shut down West Ham’s Michail Antonio and prevent him from having time to hold the ball up.
The Argentina international’s display was exactly what Conte is demanding from his back line, according to Dier, who revealed the Italian wants his defenders to be aggressive and positive in possession.
He said (via Football.London): “That is what the manager wants in the centre-backs, especially on the sides, but from all three of us he wants us to break the lines and be aggressive.
“We are playing a back five but it is rarely a back five, someone is always trying to break the lines for us to be more proactive and more aggressive and allow us to press up the pitch.”
Spurs Web Opinion
There are obvious issues that still need addressing at Spurs, but you can see that Conte’s ideas are very much there and having an impact across the pitch.
Defensively, Spurs have been up and down this season, but the last couple of games have been pretty straightforward and that is down to the back three defending as a unit.
The next point to improve on is set-pieces which has undone the side at points, including against West Ham, but that is something Spurs will definitely have picked up upon.