Tottenham Hotspur fans were likely unsurprised upon looking at their phones at 5pm on Saturday to see they had let a two-goal lead slip against Premier League bottom side Southampton. Such is the general feeling of being a Spurs fan, those 15 minutes of football perfectly summed up the last six years of being so close to success but ultimately seeing it drift away.
What perhaps may have been a surprise to some was Antonio Conte's explosive 10-minute press conference where the Italian held absolutely nothing in. During his monologue, where just four questions were asked, Conte unleashed a barrage of anger aimed at the club, the ownership and the players.
Discussing the late collapse, Conte said: "They are used to it here, they are used to it. They don't play for something important yeah? They don't want to play under pressure, they don't want to play under stress. It is easy in this way. Tottenham's story is this. 20 years there is the owner and they never won something but why?
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"The fault is only for the club, or for every manager that stay here? I have seen the managers that Tottenham had on the bench. You risk to disrupt the figure of the manager and to protect the other situation in every moment.
"Until now I try to hide the situation but now no because I don't want to see what I have seen today because this is unacceptable and also unacceptable for the fans. They follow us, pay for the ticket and to see the team another time to have this type of performance is unacceptable. We have to think a lot about this."
Conte's tirade has caused a significant rift to appear among the Tottenham fanbase on social media. Some are of the belief that Conte has thrown everyone under the bus without taking any responsibility with @AesmaTV tweeting: "Maybe Conte should stop making excuses and just come to terms its his fault. as a coach its his job to find solutions, if something isn't working figure out why."
Upon hearing of Conte's annoyance at how Tottenham competed in the Champions League @adamkinsley added: "He questions their commitment? They’ve all signed long term contracts. Of course they question his commitment. It doesn’t match theirs."
Following a tough year personally, Conte leaving come the end of the season seems inevitable and knowing his fate is likely sealed, some Spurs fans were actually pleased about his brutal admissions. @OutCastTHFC tweeted: "I'm really thankful to him for being so honest."
Although Conte's job is to improve the players and get results, some supporters believe the players must take more responsibility and that for far too long those at the club have gotten off lightly with managers at the time being sacked. @RobertD02086368 agreed with that thought posting to social media: "It’s great that these players have been well and truly found out, no place to hide now, best thing Conte could have said or done."
Many also have sympathy for Conte with @TheGameHasGone tweeting: "He clearly WANTS to go (and I don’t blame him). He’s timed it just before the international break. Speaking hard, complicated truths. He’s not willing to take the blame for Levy’s inadequacies & PR machine."
With many accepting Conte will depart in the summer, attention now turns to who will replace him at the helm. Understandably, given his past comments about returning and availability, former boss Mauricio Pochettino has been heavily linked.
The Argentina is beloved in north London with @leebrown2 making a point on the key differences between Pochettino and the last two long-term Spurs managers. "One thing for sure, player attitudes aside, Mourinho and Conte have split the fan base. Pochettino united most of the fan base."
Conte has previously bemoaned about the lack of significant investment, labelling many incomings as signings for the future. If Pochettino were to return a painful rebuild, which he suggested five years ago, would likely be needed and he could be the perfect man for the job.
Hinting at that possibility, @HipseyHustle tweeted: "Dele and Eriksen would have been “club signings” under Conte. Rose, Walker, Vertonghen would have been “players Conte needs the club to improve on”."
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