Antonio Conte details the two areas where Tottenham Hotspur need improvements
Antonio Conte has conveyed the two crucial areas where Tottenham Hotspur need improvements to make themselves better. His side had recently gone through a mixed run of form, although their latest match against Leeds United was probably their best under Conte yet.
The Italian coach has steadied the ship at N17 following the disastrous time Tottenham underwent during the reins of Nuno Espirito Santo. Spurs are currently seventh in the Premier League with 42 points from 25 matches and in a strong position to finish in the top four due to the games we have in our hands.
Speaking in an interview with Standard Sport, Conte has emphasised that Spurs need to become more balanced moving forward. He added that they need to bolster their defence, especially during set-piece plays, while also demanding his midfielders and wingbacks to get on the scoresheet.
“In my opinion, we have to try to concede less goals, especially at set-pieces. If you want to have a successful season, you have to try to find a good balance. Manchester City score a lot of goals but at the same time, they have the best defence, with only 17 goals conceded – because before playing us, they’d conceded only 14 goals!”
“My expectation is also to see the midfielders and the wing-backs score. Finally [at Leeds], I have seen the first time that one wing-back crossed for the other wing-back to finish.”
Next step?
Those who watched Conte’s Inter would know that the midfielders and wingbacks were proactive throughout the 90 minutes and were a big part of their attack. Achraf Hakimi rose to the top in the right-wingback role because of that, while midfielders like Nicolo Barella and Marcelo Brozovic earned a name for themselves under Conte.
We must do the same moving forward, and the 52-year-old coach has certainly sent that message to the players. As he mentioned, we saw a glimpse of that against Leeds when Ryan Sessegnon set up Matt Doherty to score the opening goal. That set up the eventual 4-0 thumping on the day as we enjoyed one of our great displays of the season.
We are heavily dependent on Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min in our attack at this moment. While getting the best out of the attacking duo is good, we should manage the dependency so that we are prepared to step up when they suffer a bad day.
Moreover, the issues in defence need to be sorted out and one could argue that we need centre-back additions next summer. Davinson Sanchez has improved under the Tottenham boss, but he still makes mistakes, which has seen him fall down the pecking order.
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Joe Rodon is cast aside and for good reason due to his subpar showings. Ben Davies has been solid overall, but he is not a natural centre-back and we could do with a potential upgrade in that position. That would also allow the Welshman to become one of our options down the left flank
Now it is up to the management and the players to address the issues and back Conte. Doing so can help us attain the silverware that has eluded us for so long. That has been the case at his previous clubs, and we should do the same to finally extinguish the long-lasting drought.