‘I saw a vision in his words’ – Conte opens up on Daniel Levy and Spurs challenge

Antonio Conte has admitted that he is not afraid of the challenge to get Tottenham to compete with the best sides in the Premier League.

After challenging for the Premier League title and coming close to winning the Champions League under Mauricio Pochettino, Spurs have had a dramatic fall from grace over the last two years.

If Conte had any illusions regarding how difficult it will be to get the club back challenging, he would likely have had his eyes opened when the Lilyhwites were beaten 2-1 by NS Mura on Thursday.

In his post-match press conference, the Tottenham boss insisted that he now understands the size of the gap with the top sides in England and added that it will take time to close that margin.

However, in an interview he has now given to the Italian press, Conte has insisted that he is more than ready for the challenge.

The 52-year-old told La Gazzetta Dello Sport’s Sports Week magazine (as relayed by Football Italia): “I’ve never been afraid of challenges.

“Having a 1 per cent chance to win is enough for me. I’ve never took charge of teams that had won the year before. I have always rebuilt during my career.

“Juventus had finished seventh, Chelsea tenth, Inter fourth. I know it will take some patience this time. In Milan, I finished the job, it’s never easy to take over while the season is ongoing.”

Conte also spoke about Levy’s determination in making him Tottenham head coach and declared that he wants to match the Spurs chairman’s achievements off the pitch with on-pitch success.

Conte added: “Levy proved that he wanted me at all costs. I saw a vision in his words and in his investments.

“I thought that if we are able to match what he does off the pitch, with what I do on the pitch, we can develop and compete with the biggest English clubs.

“We need to fill the gap between investments and sporting results.”

Spurs Web Opinion

If there is any positive to take from Tottenham’s poor display against Mura, it is that Conte would have seen the deficiencies of the squad clearly.

If the Italian does plan on rebuilding the club in the medium to long term, then results like yesterday could help give him indications on where we need to improve.

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