The Evening Standard have revealed that Antonio Conte has told his staff about his reluctance to make changes: “I look to the bench, then I look back to the pitch”.
Despite Tottenham struggling to create chances against both Brighton and Brentford, Conte was reluctant to change things up and use the options on his bench.
His decisions against Brentford in particular raised some eyebrows as he only brought on Lucas Moura in the 86th minute and decided not to use Steven Bergwijn despite Harry Kane, Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski having off-days.
The Evening Standard claim that it is because Conte is not convinced by the options outside his starting eleven and has communicated the same to his staff.
The report explains there is a view from some at Spurs that Bergwijn’s dramatic cameo off the bench in the King Power Stadium back in January might not have been in the club’s best interest.
That is because his late show ensured it would be a PR disaster for them to sell the winger to Ajax in the final week of the transfer window, which the North London club were said to be considering at that point.
With the winger having played just 175 minutes since his heroics against Leicester, some allegedly feel the club might have been better off cashing in on Bergwijn and doing a late deal for a wing-back or attacker that Conte rates.
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Spurs Web Opinion
Unlike Conte and his coaching staff, we do not get to watch the players in training. So, one cannot be too critical of his decisions.
However, more than the lack of personal changes, what irked me against Brighton and Brentford is Conte’s unwillingness to change his game plan and press the opposition high up the pitch even when our tactics were not working.
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