Antonio Conte has said his Tottenham side are still missing the experience and street-smarts to manage high-pressure matches, and reiterated that it will take time to turn the club into challengers.
Spurs went down 2-0 at Manchester United in a one-sided game on Wednesday, leaving a frustrated Conte claiming they always struggle in games when “the level is high”.
Speaking ahead of Sunday’s visit of Newcastle, the head coach insisted he was happy with the “commitment” of his players at Old Trafford but said they lack the game-management of many of their Premier League rivals.
“In the big games when the level is high, the pressure is high,” Conte said. "To play at Old Trafford is not simple, not easy. A lot of noise, amazing atmosphere, the fans push a lot.
"For this reason, the step that we have to do [is] to try to cope also with this pressure.
“Experience is very important in these situations. Sometimes when you are suffering, you put the ball outside the stadium. So that you can breathe.
“Or if you have injury you stay [down]. I see many, many teams in England, who understand the moment when they are suffering. One player stops, wastes time. In this period, you breathe. Your mind becomes clear again. This is experience.
"The team that is used to winning, they have everything and experience is also important. You can’t buy experience. You can only improve by playing, playing, playing, facing situations and finding solutions.
“If you are suffering a lot you have to understand that maybe it is not the right moment to continue playing from the back. Go up, with a long ball, fight for the second ball.
“These are the types of situations where we can improve, and we are working on these aspects. To have experienced players in my opinion is very, very, very important.”
Spurs made their best-ever start to a Premier League season after 10 games but the manner of their performance in the mid-week defeat has dampened expectations that they could compete for the title.
Conte, who will mark one year at the club at the start of next month, says Spurs remains in a “process” of improving, and insisted it was unrealistic to expect his side to be able to compete with their top-six rivals so soon.
“We need a process to go step by step, to become a really, really strong team and to become title contenders,” he said. "I know and I feel that this club and this team needed our process. Not in 10 months or one year, and click, you can do it, everything is ok, you are title contenders and better than [Manchester] City, Chelsea, Liverpool, United and Arsenal.
“You have to know there is a path. This path is compulsory. You have to go through this if you want to fight for something special and win trophies.
“I have great respect for the club and what the club wants to try to do but at the same time I know our possibilities are different to the monsters that are in England. There is a difference.
“But it doesn’t mean my aspiration is not to fight at the same level. But I think you need to have time, patience, don’t make mistakes in the transfer market. Many situations. But it’s normal for a club like Tottenham in this moment.”
Conte revealed that he wants his players to share his anger after defeats but admitted that he was conflicted by the strength of his moods.
“For me the day after [a defeat] is really, really bad,” Conte said. “I’m trying to improve myself because on one side it could be better for my spirit and my family. And on the other side I know that if I lose this anger I can lose something important to transfer to my players, for the next time to try to do everything to avoid the defeat.
“If my players and all the people in this environment start to understand that a defeat is different than a win, I think this is the first step to becoming a winner.
“I think that my players are starting this process. I think so. They are starting this process, to feel that the defeat hurts them.”
