Antonio Conte tells Tottenham Hotspur fans not to let last season’s ‘miracle’ effect expectations following Aston Villa loss
Tottenham Hotspur were billed as title contenders by some at the start of the Premier League season, which wasn’t ever a realistic expectation, according to manager Antonio Conte.
The former Inter Milan and Juventus boss is accustomed to winning domestic titles, which is why expectations have been high ever since he replaced Nuno Espirito Santo at the helm. A top four finish last season just added more hope.
Fans were brave enough to dream of a Premier League title after a strong start to the campaign. But that has since petered out, and the most recent 2-0 loss against Aston Villa at N17 is a sour reminder of that.
We are no longer contenders for the title but are now struggling to hold onto our fourth spot this season. A win for Liverpool in their game against Brentford on Monday will see them overtake the Lilywhites on the table.
Speaking after the shambolic result against the Villans, Conte reminded fans that beating Arsenal and Manchester United for the fourth spot last season was a ‘miracle’. He said (h/t Guardian):
“Last season, we made a miracle. We did a miracle. But I knew which was the situation and was very clear with the club. Then I recall very well people talked about Tottenham as title contenders this season but this was a bit crazy to read this.”
It was a huge achievement, no doubt, but perhaps Conte is saying these things to take some heat off him as well. It is always good to keep your expectations low.
If that is not done, fans and rivals would raise fingers at Conte and say that he has underachieved if he doesn’t win silverware this season. The Italian tactician has reminded fans time and again that this team isn’t ready for a title challenge and that it needs more signings.
But to say that last season was a miracle would be disheartening for our supporters because that means the manager’s expectations from this season would be low as compared to some of our more optimistic fans.
More Tottenham Hotspur News:
- Spurs Transfer News: Lyon defender Mal Gusto on Tottenham Hotspur’s radar
- Dejan Kulusevski says he was ‘terrified’ when he joined Tottenham Hotspur from Juventus in January
- Tottenham Hotspur can sign Chelsea target Denzel Dumfries for €30m
Make no mistake about the fact that anything apart from a top-four finish will be a failure, especially after a summer window which saw us retain our best players and add the likes of Ivan Perisic, Richarlison, and Yves Bissouma.
