Ben Davies has admitted that he is enjoying playing as a left-centre-back in a back three under Antonio Conte.
It certainly did not come as a surprise when Conte adopted a back three as soon as he arrived at Spurs.
Davies has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the Italian’s arrival at the club, having started every single Premier League game so far under the 52-year-old.
The 28-year-old is by no means a stranger to playing on the left of a back three, having played the role for Wales on many occasions as well as for Spurs for a few times in the past.
The former Swansea man admitted that he is enjoying the positional change and the increased license to join in attacks.
He told The Athletic: “The license is there to join in the attacks, and while the positions are set on the pitch and that’s your basic position, if you can move the opposition around and if that’s me stepping into the next line then it can definitely be beneficial to the way we want to play.
“From the first day, it was straight into 11 v 11 and he (Conte) wanted me to be in that left centre-back role, and that was exactly where I wanted to be. I’m not daft, I knew he likes to play this system, and I think that position suits me down to the ground.”
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Davies also opened up on the contents of Conte’s half-time team talk when Tottenham were trailing 1-0 to Leeds at half-time two weeks ago.
The defender revealed the Italian was composed and gave the players a clear plan on how to change things, which enabled the side to turn the result around.
When asked about what was said at half-time against Leeds, Davies said: “We were expecting fireworks but it was really good. It was a very clear plan of what was expected and we executed it much better in the second half.
“It definitely bodes well to have that confidence in a manager that can tell you this is what I want this half, and then it works.
“I think going into the game, the manager was perhaps a bit unsure whether we could compete at that level physically because of what the stats showed about facing a team like Leeds.
“But in the second half we outran them, we pressed better, we were much more organised. We were much more clear in our press and followed what the manager told us to do in that second half.”
Spurs Web Opinion
I have always thought that Davies’ natural position is at left-centre-back in a back three.
The 28-year-old does not have the physicality to play as a centre-back in a back four while he does not provide too much in terms of an attacking threat while playing as a left-back.
However, he is an extremely reliable defender and competent with the ball at his feet. This new role allows his strengths to come to the fore without exposing his weaknesses.
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