Antonio Conte has insisted that he is completely focused on getting the best out of the squad he has to work with rather than thinking about potential additions in January.
Tottenham have an extremely busy month coming up, with 10 matches across all competitions until January 1.
While Conte and his coaching staff will potentially learn a lot by seeing different players in competitive action, they will not have a lot of time to implement their ideas on the training ground due to the quick turnaround between games.
The deficiencies of the squad were laid bare last week when the North Londoners fell to an embarrassing 2-1 loss to NS Mura in the Europa Conference League after Conte rang the changes.
When asked if this is a bigger job than he thought it was a month ago and about the need to strengthen in January, Conte told Football.London: “January is very far, we have to concentrate on this month because this month we play many games. We need to move the table and get points.
“For us, it’s very very important to stay close to the teams ahead of us. January is very far. I’m totally focused on the team to get the best out of my players. Also to make the right evaluations of the whole squad.
“Then we’ll see what happens. I repeat: we have to play many games and I need all the players. I count on all the players. I trust in these players and we’re working, we’re working well.
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“I know it’s not easy when you come in during the season to bring your philosophy and ideas. But the players are showing great availability and this is very important. Because I know that with time we’ll improve in every aspect.”
Conte also made it clear that he believes the current squad have a lot of room for improvement, insisting that he hopes to see them go up a couple of levels over the busy Christmas period.
When asked what he expects of the team over the next few weeks, he said: “My expectations are to improve, to improve in every single aspect so that we are working, tactically, physically, mentally.
“I repeat: now after four weeks, with many players with the national team who work only two weeks, but I think after four weeks my expectations and demands are to see what we’re doing during the training sessions and what we are doing every day at the training ground.
“I hope to see this improvement, but I’m sure this team will improve a lot and we need time to continue to work. We’re working well, but we’re now at a point where I can see good improvement tomorrow.”
Spurs Web Opinion
The changes that Conte and his coaching staff are trying to implement, will require time, particularly given that they have not had the luxury of a pre-season to work with the squad.
Both tactically and in terms of the players’ fitness, it might take a month or two before we see the squad reach the level Conte demands. So, Spurs fans will have to show some patience through this process.
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