One of Antonio Conte’s more drastic warnings for Tottenham came before last season’s home game against tonight’s opponents Everton.
In March last year, both clubs were in a similar position to today, with Tottenham fighting for a top-four finish and the Toffees battling relegation, but Conte predicted that Spurs, too, “could slip” down an ultra-competitive League table.
“You’ll have to pay great attention,” Conte said. “Teams that at this moment seem to be in the middle, they could slip.” His implication was clear: without me, Spurs could quickly find themselves in big trouble and even a relegation dogfight of their own.
His comments felt exaggerated, particularly when Spurs thrashed Everton 5-0, but just over a year later, they are worth revisiting. Conte is now gone, replaced last week by his own assistant Cristian Stellini, and the question is whether Spurs will “slip” without the Italian’s leadership or if, conversely, he was the thing holding them back all along.
For the best part of four years, Spurs fans have been split over whether the squad is not good enough or simply poorly-coached, but Conte could not have made his feelings more clear when he torched his relationship with the dressing room in a furious denouncement of the “spirit”, professionalism and character of his players in the wake of Spurs’s last fixture, the 3-3 draw at Southampton 16 days ago.
“The club has the responsibility for the transfer market, every coach that stayed here has the responsibility [for results],” Conte said. “And the players? The players? Where are the players?”
The Spurs squad did not have a chance to respond to Conte’s comments while on international duty, in part because he remained in charge for over a week after the Saints game, but the final 10 games of the season are an opportunity to make their case. Starting on Monday night, the squad have an opportunity to prove to Conte and supporters that he, not them, was the issue in their stuttering season.
Sean Dyche’s side have found some form at home and will obviously make life extremely difficult for Spurs in what should be a rocking atmosphere under the Goodison Park lights, so the game is the perfect opportunity for the visiting players to demonstrate the intangibles which Conte claimed they lacked. Was their attitude the issue or was it Conte’s tactics and energy that was impacting performances?
Stellini’s approach will also be significant, of course, and he has said he is prepared to make tactical changes from Conte’s set-up. Significantly, Stellini will be assisted by Ryan Mason, who played a back four and encouraged the players to get on the ball and have a go when he succeeded Jose Mourinho for the final six games of the 2020-21 season.
The chances of the pair immediately ripping up Conte’s back three have been dampened by injuries in defence, however, with Ben Davies, Ryan Sessegnon and Emerson Royal all sidelined, leaving Ivan Perisic the only natural option on the left and more suited to play as a wing-back.
The acting head coach has promised every player a fresh start, offering renewed hope to on-loan forward Arnaut Danjuma and other players who barely featured under Conte.
“Everyone can have an important feeling and impact on the future,” Stellini told Standard Sport. “So that has to be the point, that we can create unity between us. This is the most important thing and something fresh. We don’t want to change what we did in the past, otherwise we wouldn’t be here [challenging for a Champions League spot].
“We are where we want to be, we can reach the target, this is what we want, this is what we have to fight for.”
