Antonio Conte sends message to Tottenham Hotspur players upset with squad rotation after Leicester win
Antonio Conte asked any Tottenham Hotspur player that may not be content with his squad rotation policy to go to a “medium team” for guaranteed playing time.
Speaking after the 6-2 win against Leicester City, the Italian manager said (h/t Football.London):
“Romero was on the bench. I played Sanchez. Emerson played every game until now, then I decided to make a rotation. Yeah, I repeat, if you want to stay in a team with ambition, you have to accept this type of situation.”
He asked his players to look at the bigger picture and understand the importance of squad rotation. He cited that problems with such a policy have happened at Spurs before but he is trying to “change” that.
“Otherwise, you have to go to a medium team, and then you are sure you will play every game. And then it will be very difficult to lift a trophy in this way.”
Conte’s comments make it evident that he sees Spurs in a highly flattering light – and rightly so. We have the players, the stadium, the fans, and the staff to propel us to compete for every trophy under the sun.
In the game against Leicester, Conte made several changes, including playing Davinson Sanchez for Cristian Romero and dropping Emerson Royal for Ivan Perisic to start down the right flank.
Son Heung-min’s exclusion from the starting XI was surprising yet expected – as oxymoronic as it may sound. The South Korea international isn’t used to such treatment but no goals until his hat-trick against the Foxes warranted Conte to send a message that no one is undroppable.
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Ryan Sessegnon also came back into the starting XI and started as a left-wing-back, as he did in our opening two league games this season. The former Italy national team manager now has a team which affords him the luxury to rotate – and those who don’t like it can leave for a “medium team”, in Conte’s own words.
