Manager Antonio Conte believes mentality of Tottenham Hotspur players is behind ‘too many ups and downs’
Speaking after his side’s FA Cup fifth-round exit to Middlesbrough (h/t Evening Standard), Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte said that his players’ mentality was a big reason for their inconsistent form.
In yet another loss to chalk up for the Spurs boss, Conte saw his side lose 1-0 to Championship side Boro last night at the Riverside Stadium, which effectively saw the last of their trophy hopes go up in smoke.
The Italian said his team has to become stronger and more competitive going forward, as his side had too many ‘up and downs’ this season. Inconsistency has proven to be a big flaw for Spurs this term.
“I always say we have to become stronger and if we want to become competitive then we have to be a stable team. Too many up and downs still for us and for sure we have to continue to work very hard and try in the future to learn about this defeat.”
With this result, Tottenham have ensured that they will go yet another year without a trophy, extending their long wait for silverware. The club last won a trophy in 2008 when they got their hands on the League Cup.
“Mind of the players”
Conte’s side has now lost five out of their last seven games, including a hat-trick of losses in the Premier League earlier this year. Heading into the game, they had just beaten Leeds United 4-0 in the league on the weekend but looked a shadow of themselves against Boro last night.
The former Chelsea manager questioned his team’s mentality, saying in a situation like this, it is not always a tactical or technical issue to address, but a mental one. Tottenham’s form has gone win, loss, loss, win, loss, win in the last month.
“I try every day through the work. Also sometimes to speak. For sure in this type of situation you need to find the right key to go into the mind of the players, because it’s not only sometimes a tactical problem or a technical problem.”
The Lilywhites make themselves a hard team to support, given that their wild topsy-turvy approach to games. On some nights, they look to be the best team in the business while on other nights, they look short of confidence and form.
In Conte, they have one of the world’s best tacticians. He comes into this Spurs team on the back of a Serie A win with Inter Milan, helping them break their own Scudetto title drought.
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This Tottenham team looks to be his biggest challenge yet, given how poor they are at the moment. They have no more trophy hopes this season, and currently sit seventh in the Premier League, in danger of qualifying for the Champions League next term.
The former Juventus manager will need to pull out all the tricks in his bag to get this Spurs team to achieve their potential. They have good players in the team, but like Conte said, it comes down to shaping their mentality to be winners for success to follow his side.
