Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte says it is difficult to see a target the season after FA Cup exit
Speaking ahead of his side’s Premier League fixture against Everton on Monday (h/t Evening Standard), Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte talked about how it was difficult to see a target for the remainder of the season after his team’s FA Cup exit last week.
Spurs were handed a 1-0 loss in extra time of the fifth round of the FA Cup by Middlesbrough, seeing them knocked out of the cup competition and finishing the season without any silverware, further extending their trophy drought.
Conte said that despite the defeat, his single focus for the rest of the season was to get the best out of not only his players, but everyone who works at Tottenham to try and finish the campaign to the best of their abilities.
“In this moment, my focus is to try to get the best out of every single person that works in Tottenham, not only the players but everyone in the whole environment because we have got to try and finish this difficult season in the best possible way.”
Currently sitting in seventh place, the Lilywhites have a couple of games in hand to use to their advantage to climb up the Premier League table and make sure that they qualify for the Champions League next term. A win against Everton tonight would take us one step closer to achieving that.
“Get the best possible result”
Spurs last won a trophy in 2008 when they lifted the League Cup, and the loss to Boro made sure that Conte goes without a trophy in his debut season with the club. The season may yet be salvaged by ensuring a top-four finish in the league.
The Italian said that the FA Cup exit has made it difficult for him to see a target for the summer since the cup competition was his primary focus for the campaign, but the focus needed to be on playing every game with the best efforts to get the results they need to finish the season strongly.
“This moment is very difficult for me to see a target, but for sure we are targeting to play every game at the maximum to try and get the best possible result. For our minds the FA Cup would [have] been a possible target – for our mind’s stimulation to give us something to hope for at the end of the season, to lift the trophy.”
Conte has not yet had a full season with the club, yet it is encouraging to see him comment about setting a trophy in his sights within just a few months of him arriving in north London. Though that did not happen, his ambition and winning mentality can be admired – something that we have been missing in recent years.
The former Inter Milan head coach was brought to England to help turn Spurs into a side capable of competing for trophies and titles, given his past managerial record at clubs. In fact, Conte comes to N17 off the back of a Serie A title last year with the Nerazzurri.
More Tottenham Hotspur News
- Manchester United enter the race for Middlesbrough star Isaiah Jones amidst Tottenham Hotspur interest
- Tottenham Hotspur loanee Cameron Carter-Vickers speaks about the pressure of playing for Celtic
- Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte warned that Daniel Levy may not back him in summer transfer window
Admittedly, the FA Cup was a huge opportunity for us to win a title and break our trophy drought, especially since we had a world-class manager in Conte leading the team. However, it was not meant to be this time around.
This has been a largely disappointing season for us, failing to kick start a winning run and being knocked out of cup competitions by weaker sides. Hopefully, our Italian manager is able to turn things around next term and put us back where we belong, competing with the best of the rest for all available trophies.
