Antonio Conte claimed Tottenham have ‘one of the best group of players’ he’s ever worked with after his side beat Manchester City 3-2 at the Etihad. That was before Spurs lost 1-0 to Burnley four days later and Conte questioned the very group he had praised.
It was textbook Conte. The Italian has been at Tottenham for four months - it's still a surprise he accepted the job - yet his emotionally charged post-match interview after Burnley beat Spurs at Turf Moor suggested he was already ready to quit. "In the last five games, we lost four games and it means there will be an assessment about the club, about me," Conte said.
"Because for me it's very frustrating. The club has to make an assessment. The players are always the same, the club changes the coaches, the players are the same, but the result doesn't change. I'm too honest to accept this type of situation." The odds on Conte being the next Premier League manager to leave office tumbled after those comments. Conte seemed on borrowed time.
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Conte has resisted a knee-jerk reaction. The former Chelsea boss led his side to a 4-0 win over Leeds at the weekend, which proved to be Marcelo Bielsa's nadir, but it's still expected that he'll leave Tottenham at the end of the season. That has led to some hoping Manchester United will appoint Conte this summer.
United considered appointing Conte following Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's overdue sacking in October but those within the club's hierarchy were 'not keen' on that prospect. Conte was deemed too confrontational and his tactical approach was contradictory to the style in which United want to play. Conte is also a short-term manager and United want their next permanent boss to have a long-term view.
Conte has spent just two years in his last three roles with Inter Milan, Italy and Chelsea and, while he was open to taking the job at Old Trafford, he had his own reservations over his suitability to manage United. That relationship didn't happen, Conte accepted Spurs' proposal instead, but that marriage already seems unhealthy and heading for divorce, proving United's decision was right.
Jurgen Klopp, Mauricio Pochettino and Thomas Tuchel are three managers that United missed out on when they were out of work and available. There are few elite coaches in the pool of talent that Europe's biggest sides contend to attract and it was hard not to think United should have moved for Conte in October if they wanted silverware. Conte is a serial winner and hugely ambitious.
Although the small window of opportunity to appoint an elite coach in Conte was tempting, his confrontational style wouldn't have worked at United. Conte's outburst after Tottenham lost to Burnley would have happened at Old Trafford in a different world. It would have happened when United lost to Middlesbrough, or after the many frustrating draws over the last few weeks.
Conte has now suggested his comments after his side's defeat to Burnley were based on strategy, not emotion. While there is likely an element of truth within that statement, it's hard to believe the United board would want such an unpredictable manager.
Jose Mourinho has won the most trophies (two) of any manager at United since 2013, but his time at the club ended in bitter fashion after his fractured relationships with players turned the dressing room toxic. Conte's time at United had the potential to follow the same path. United don't want to make the same mistakes again. Such erratic managers don't fit the club's identity.
There was also no guarantee of Conte winning silverware at United. That's obvious, no trophies can be guaranteed, but the predicament Conte would have inherited at United would have been worse than he would have been possibly prepared for.
Conte didn't know what he was getting into with Tottenham, either, and that has been evident in his interviews.
Conte is undoubtedly an elite manager and he represented the safest bet for silverware in October, however, his time at Tottenham offers a glimpse into what his tenure at United would have been like. United were ultimately right to bide their time.
The club has wrestled with its identity since Sir Alex Ferguson retired but they made the right decision in going against the short term option of Conte, but that correct decision will be reversed if they don't get their next managerial appointment right.
There will be no logic in staying clear of Conte if they don't appoint an attack-minded, long-term coach this summer, with credentials to manage the best. Erik ten Hag and Pochettinho are the obvious candidates - the latter seems less attached with risk.
Regardless of which manager arrives, it's a non-negotiable that they need to fit the club's philosophy, which Conte didn't.
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