Pascal Chimbonda believes it will be a "big mistake" if Tottenham let Antonio Conte leave at the end of the season.
Spurs have an option to extend the Italian's contract, which ends this summer, by another 12 months but Conte's future remains unclear. Chimbonda, who spent two spells at the north London club, feels that Tottenham must stick with their head coach beyond this campaign.
"Maybe it’s for lack of winning trophies. He has spent two years there and there are no signs of progress. There are not close to winning any trophies, like Pochettino was when they got to a Champions League final. That’s maybe why they don’t want to keep going with Conte," Chimbonda, speaking on behalf of 888sport, said. "But if you don’t stay with him, who are you going to pick, because he’s a good manager, a good worker, and players like to work with him. It would be a big mistake if Tottenham get rid of him."
READ MORE: Tottenham's summer goalkeeper transfer shortlist revealed with Hugo Lloris future to be decided
He added: "When you play three at the back it is still attacking football, because you have your two full-backs push up and join in with the attacks. So it’s not the system but the players. They need to give everything and maybe sometimes it’s a lack of communication, especially in the big games.
"It’s not the quality that is a problem but the desire. You can’t question Conte on his system because he’s always played like that and has had success.
"The main reasons for being inconsistent is a lack of confidence and too many changes defensively. They never play with the same back five and that needs to change. If Son or Harry Kane doesn’t score we can’t win a game and we rely on them too much to be the difference. That’s a problem."
As a right-back himself, Chimbonda gave his thoughts on the form of Emerson Royal in recent weeks, with the Brazilian putting in some of his best performances in a Spurs shirt since the £40m arrival of Pedro Porro from Sporting.
"Maybe it’s on [Emerson] but when you play in England it’s a very different league to in Spain and it’s hard to adapt. In recent games he has started playing well and maybe this is because they bought a new right-back and he’s good as well. This has given him more motivation to do well because he knows if his level drops there is someone who will step in," said Chimbonda.
"If he keeps playing well defensively, and helping with the attacking side, then he will stay in the team and get the fans back on his side."
On the other flank, Chimbonda is looking for more consistency from 22-year-old Ryan Sessegnon.
"Spurs signed [Ivan] Perisic, who is an experienced international who played with Conte at Inter, so it’s difficult for Sessegnon. Sometimes he has played good but sometimes bad, and he needs to be more consistent to put some pressure on Perisic," he said. "He has a chance to become a regular left-back for England but if you don’t play for your club then he won’t play for his country."
Harry Kane became Tottenham's record goalscorer this month after netting his 267th goal for the club and Chimbonda believes Spurs cannot afford to lose him.
"It’s not fair because when you play football you want to break records, win trophies and do your best for your team and your club," he said. "You can’t take anything away from Harry because he’s a goal machine who would score for any team and he’s broken a big record. He’s a good friend to Spurs and they can’t afford to lose him. Who do you get to replace him? There is no-one on the market like Harry Kane."
On the club's trophy drought, he added: "It’s been too long. They came close with the Champions League under Pochettino but after that they’ve been up and down, and maybe it’s time now for Spurs to win a trophy. They have a new stadium and a new training ground.
"They have everything going for them to perform and Spurs are meant to be a big club. It’s time to show that now. Other clubs in the top six, like Chelsea, United and City, they win trophies every season."
READ NEXT:
Tottenham's takeover valuation, Eric Dier's Son anger and what Harry Kane did before Milan loss
- Daniel Levy admits transfer mistakes as Tottenham reveal financial results
- Tottenham injury woe for yet another summer signing as well as Yves Bissouma news
- Tottenham's £150m ENIC capital increase explained, how much has been taken and what happens next
- Antonio Conte sending hints about his Tottenham future, chaos in Milan and Spurs' stability woes
