Alasdair Gold has clarified the comments he made regarding Tanguy Ndombele last week, insisting that the Frenchman’s improved fitness is not down to Antonio Conte’s arrival.
Ndombele’s fitness has been an issue since the midfielder arrived at Tottenham in 2019, with Jose Mourinho even publicly criticising the Frenchman for his work rate last year.
New Spurs boss Antonio Conte is allegedly intent on improving the squad’s fitness and is thought to have drastically altered the players’ training regimes and diet.
While talking about the importance of Ndombele impressing Conte and his coaching staff during the international break, Gold revealed last week that the midfielder’s fitness has improved.
The journalist stated that the former Lyon man is considered by the sports science staff at Spurs to be in the best physical condition of his time at the club.
Gold has now corrected those who misconstrued his comment, explaining that Ndombele’s improved physical shape had nothing to do with Conte’s arrival.
The journalist said on his YouTube channel (starting at 11:41): “He’s apparently, this season thus far, in the best shape of his Spurs career.
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“I put that out and many people said it was the Conte effect, but I wasn’t talking about Conte, I was talking about before that.
“So you have to give credit to Nuno and Tanguy himself. In that Newcastle game he ran more than any other player on the pitch.”
Spurs Web Opinion
While Conte might be a magician in terms of his ability to turn clubs around, even he (nor anyone else) is capable of turning a player’s fitness around in two weeks.
It was obvious what Gold meant by his comments last week and the credit has to go to the pre-season program under Nuno as well as to Ndombele himself.
Spurs fans are obviously eager to put everything down to the Conte effect but in reality, it will take a couple of months before we see the players’ improved fitness levels translate into on-pitch performances.
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