Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte laments his side’s defensive display against Southampton
Speaking to the media in his post-match press conference (h/t football.london), Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte admitted that he was disappointed with his team’s defensive display against Southampton, crashing to a 3-2 loss at home.
The Saints came from behind to win the game in the last ten minutes of the match, scoring twice in two minutes as they handed Spurs a nasty home defeat. The loss is a blow to Tottenham’s hopes of clinching a top-four spot at the end of the season.
Conte admitted that his side made ‘many’ mistakes against Southampton, claiming that his team would struggle to win games if this continues.
“For sure we have to be disappointed because after our first half where we struggled a lot and I think they were good but I think we made many, many mistakes, many mistakes, especially with the ball. We have to be more accurate but I know very well this season and I repeat, we are going to struggle to get three points.”
The loss leaves Spurs in seventh place in the Premier League table, four points off fourth place as they target Champions League football next season. Luckily for Conte, his side also have multiple games in hand to make up the deficit.
‘Emotional’ Spurs
Tottenham looked set to win the game in the second half after forward Heung-Min Son put them ahead to go 2-1 up in the match, only for a defensive disaster class to follow soon, with Spurs failing to deal with two goal-scoring crosses from the right, courtesy of Saints skipper James Ward-Prowse.
Conte called for his team to be more solid at the back and strengthen their mental side of the game, saying that his team were still ‘too emotional‘ to handle the pressures of the top-flight.
“I think this type of situation created a bit of instability, mental instability in my team, especially in the first half. I say this before and I continue to repeat. I think that we are improving in many aspects but then we are still too emotional.”
Conte will be bitterly disappointed with his team losing all three points at home, especially given that they were in front as they headed towards the final stretch of the game. The Italian is sure to be concerned about the way his team are struggling to see out games.
After the highs of scoring two goals in two minutes against Leicester City to clinch a win a few weeks back, Spurs felt the lows last night, being on the receiving end of two quickfire Southampton goals scored in as many minutes.
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Conte will need to rally his team around and work on their problems at the back before we face Wolves on the weekend. Spurs fans will expect their team to come good next time, after disappointing the home crowd last night.
There is also pressure on the Italian manager to produce results as quickly as possible, with a Champions League spot up for grabs at the end of the season. It would be utterly heartbreaking to Spurs lose a chance to play in the UCL next campaign, given the resources they have at hand.
