Stellini explains what the Spurs players told him following Conte’s departure

Cristian Stellini has revealed that he was pleased to see that the Tottenham players took responsibility for the way things ended for Antonio Conte.

Since Conte’s departure a week ago, plenty of reports have indicated that all was not well behind the scenes at the club for a few months.

The Evening Standard revealed at the start of the week that the players had grown tired of the Italian shifting blame onto them publicly after bad results.

Meanwhile, The Daily Mail reported a few days ago that some senior members of the Spurs squad had even pleaded with Conte to take the handbrakes off back in January as they felt that the overly cautious style was the reason for the team’s poor performances.

However, Stellini revealed that in his meeting with the Tottenham squad on Friday, the players accepted that it is primarily them who are responsible for the position the club find itself in.

When asked about the meeting, the interim Spurs head coach told Football.London: “I was impressed because I felt that players were taking responsibility for the situation, for the club.

“We have to know where we are. Football is about time and movement and spaces. It’s the same in life. You have to know where you are and where you want to go and the speed you need to go where you want.

“You need players that play like they live their lives. I felt that the players wanted to go to an important point. If we are together, we can do it.

“He said that it is a particular moment, that they want to be responsible, they want to respect the staff, because they know us.

“They needed to have clarification of the situation and they were happy about how we did that. We didn’t speak enough, so they wanted this, they got this, and after that I can feel the smiles again and respect.”

Son Heung-min said publicly a few days ago that he feels responsible for the way things ended for Conte, admitting that he should have been better this season (Sky Sports).

When asked about the South Korean’s comments, Stellini said: “When players take responsibility in this type of situation, it means they are mature.

“They think about their performance, what they are doing, how important they are in the dressing room and on the pitch. Sonny is an important player.

“If you have this answer from Sonny in a moment like this, you have players who are focused on the moment they are in and want to come out of this moment.

“It would be worse if the players didn’t care about what happened. That was an important moment for us when a manager like Antonio is gone. It’s not only about Antonio, it’s about the players. It’s an important thing and I appreciated it.

“It was a request that came from a long time [ago]. From the experience you have, you have to grow. You have to improve yourself as a man.

“We’re not just speaking about players, we speaking about human beings. This type of experience, if you react in the right way, makes you better as a human being.”

Spurs Web Opinion

Despite some of the conspiracy theories doing the rounds among a section of Spurs fans regarding some bad eggs in the dressing room sabotaging managers, the reality is that our squad consists of a good group of guys.

While some of them might have shortcomings as players, we do not have characters who would cause disruption in the dressing room by defying the manager’s orders.

Most of Conte’s problems were of his own doing and the Italian has fallen out spectacularly with some of his players in almost every single job he has had in his managerial career.