‘Finally’ – Conte reveals what he told Doherty after Everton performance

Antonio Conte has lavished praise on Matt Doherty, remarking that the Irishman was back to his best against Everton. 

Doherty has struggled for game time this season, with Conte continuing to show faith in Emerson Royal at right wing-back for the first couple of months of the campaign.

The Spurs boss had reasoned previously that the 30-year-old was still short of his best physically after the knee injury he sustained in April (Football London).

However, Emerson’s three-game suspension after picking up a red card in the North London derby has meant that Conte had to turn to Doherty for the last two Premier League clashes against Brighton and Everton.

The former Wolves man put in an accomplished performance in the 2-0 win over the Toffees and the Tottenham head coach stated that the right-back was even more impressive than he was against Brighton.

Conte was seen giving a big hug to Doherty when he came off and whispered something in his ear, and the Italian has now revealed what he told the Republic of Ireland international.

When asked about Doherty’s performance on Saturday, the 53-year-old said (via Football.London): “About Matthew, honestly, I’m really happy, really happy. He played a good game against Brighton but today he played better than the last game.

“He played well in the last game and I was happy also with it but today I have seen again the Matt Doherty of last season. I was really pleased and said to him ‘finally now you are the player that I know!’.

“It’s important, important for us because to play all these games in a short period, it is important to have all the players available.”

Spurs Web Opinion

Some Spurs fans might be a little skeptical about Conte’s comments as Doherty was not going to be able to prove himself unless he got chances, which he has not until the last two matches.

However, Conte and the coaching staff watch him train regularly, and we have to trust their judgement about the 30-year-old not being at his sharpest physically for the first two months of the campaign.

There is no doubt that Doherty will take plenty of confidence from his two performances against both Brighton and Everton, with the right-back impressing both offensively and defensively. 

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