Harry Winks has admitted that Antonio Conte has helped to rebuild some of his lost confidence following his struggles over the last two years.
Under Mauricio Pochettino, Winks was seen as one of the most talented young midfielders in the Premier League and was regularly making the England squad.
However, the midfielder found it difficult to get game time under Jose Mourinho and Nuno Espirito Santo, with some reports suggesting that he wanted to leave his boyhood club in order to rebuild his career.
The Spurs academy graduate now looks to have a new lease of life Under Conte and produced a Man of the Match display in Tottenham’s 2-2 draw against Liverpool.
Conte spoke in glowing terms of the 25-year-old’s performance and admitted the midfielder had impressed him in training.
When asked about Conte’s comments, Winks told talkSPORT’s the White and Jordan show: “He’s given me some confidence again and it’s been nice to hear.
“The manager speaks and gives you information and tells you what he wants to improve on.
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“Whenever I go on the pitch in training and in matches, I want to give my all for the manager because if I get given that motivation then I don’t want to let the manager down.
“It’s an opportunity for me and every time I play, I have to take that.”
Winks revealed that Conte made it clear to the squad that he will give opportunities to players who do well in training, and admitted he and his teammates are working as hard as possible to impress the Italian.
Winks added: “He (Conte) said to everybody if you deserve to play and show it in training, then you’ll get the opportunity.
“The manager’s been true to his word and everybody’s been given a chance and, depending on how you train and how you work, the manager will reward that.
“It’s good to have that motivation in the squad that you know if you train well you’ll get the opportunity.
“I think everybody is striving to work as hard as possible because everyone wants to play – especially myself as it’s been a different couple of seasons in terms of getting regular game time.
“His passion before a game, half-time, in meetings, it’s very clear that he loves football and wants everybody to be on the same level as him.
“We’ve got a good group of lads who want to improve and do well.
“We know we have underachieved in the last couple of seasons so it’s important we do everything we can to get back on the pitch and show everybody what we’re capable of.”
Spurs Web Opinion
I was pleased to see Winks do so well at Liverpool and I am hoping that it can be the start of the 25-year-old’s resurgence. Winks is Spurs through and through, and so I am desperate for him to succeed at the club.
What happened over the last two years could not have been easy for him after the excellent start he made to his career. Hopefully, he now gets some regular game time under his belt and is able to rebuild his confidence.
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