A frustrated Antonio Conte has bemoaned Tottenham Hotspur's transfer business by claiming Spurs are now weaker after the January window.
The Lilywhites boss saw four senior players leave the club last month, only signing out-of-favour Juventus duo Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski to replace them.
Conte missed out on his two top targets - Adama Traore and Luis Diaz - and the Italian has once again made clear his pessimistic feelings on the players at his disposal.
"It's always difficult to make comparisons, but if I had to find something similar, it would be the lack of confidence that is inevitable when you start work at a club that hasn't won in a long time," Conte told Sky Italia in a candid interview.
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"I saw some situations from the outside that could be developed, but when you get into it, you realise that something… "What happened in January was not easy.
"We lost four players in January. Four important players for Tottenham, and we brought in only two. So even just in terms of numbers, rather than reinforce the squad, we on paper weakened it.
"Bentancur and Kulusevski are ideal prospects for Tottenham, because Tottenham are seeking young players they can develop and grow, not players who are ready. That is the issue.”
Conte came to north London off the back of winning the Serie A title with Inter Milan, and his success was built on signing players who had experience in lifting trophies.
Asked whether he could bridge the gap between Tottenham and the top Premier League sides without high-calibre players, the Spurs manager admitted: "That's the issue. This is the vision and the philosophy of the club.
"It is inevitable that if you want to grow quicker and if you want to be competitive more rapidly, you need players with a lot of experience, because they also raise the experience level of the overall team.
"But I repeat, I have realised now that this is the vision of the club."
Saturday's 2-0 defeat at home to Wolves made it three successive league defeats for Conte for the first time in 12 years, denting their chances of finishing in the top four and qualifying for the Champions League.
"We are working hard and it is not enough. Maybe we have to be calm and be realistic," Conte added to BBC Sport. "I don't remember in the last few years, Tottenham fighting for something important. Not a situation for this season.
"Big games from a long period, maybe the season when this team reached the final of the Champions League.
"Then it happen and Mauricio Pochettino was sacked and the team finished down. From there something has changed. Now to be good we need to have the passion together and to understand the situation has changed from the past.
"We have to fight in every game with the risk we can win, draw and lose."
