“Not scared”- Rival manager remains unfazed by Spurs challenge

Ralph Hasenhuttl: Southampton are not scared of Antonio Conte and Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur will face Southampton in Premier League tomorrow and, Ralph Hasenhuttl has revealed that they are not scared of Antonio Conte and his team. The Saints overcame West Ham United by a 3-2 scoreline yesterday and are looking to make a game of it.

The St Mary’s outfit is in 14th place in the league table with 20 points from 18 matches. Tottenham, on the other hand, are in the fifth position and have 29 points from 16 games. The former would want all three points to move into the top half, whereas the latter will boost their top-four chances with a win on the night.

Speaking in the pre-match press conference (h/t Evening Standard), Hasenhuttl acknowledged that the visitors are currently one of the best teams in the top flight under Conte. However, he added that his team are no pushover as they have already proved their mettle against the big boys.

“They are one of the best teams in the league. But we are not scared. We have shown that against top teams we can take points and this is our plan for Tuesday. [They are] a strong side, very mentally strong now, with a lot of quality up front and in every position, a very intense way of playing now, and a super tough challenge for us. But as always we are also a physically good team, and we will fight for everything on Tuesday.”

Relishing the challenge

It is necessary that we face tough challenges as overcoming them would help us to improve even further. For that reason, we should be delighted if the hosts pose a threat in the league clash tomorrow. They have already shown multiple times this season that performance levels can be raised when needed.

The only concern would be how there is a lack of adequate recovery time due to the match against Crystal Palace has taken place just 48 hours before. However, that calls for our squad players to step up to the challenge as they have done recently.

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Even when Spurs faced Liverpool after being affected by a Covid outbreak, we put up a great fight and probably should have won the game. The improvements since late November are impressive, considering how we have had to overcome obstacles both on and off the pitch.

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We have to collectively work towards getting over this congested schedule as it would help us to get used to it. That is necessary when we have three matches that are now pending and yet to be played.

Southampton and the others can prepare themselves all they want, but as long as Conte is at the helm, Spurs fans know that their team can beat anyone on their day.