Cristian Stellini reveals Antonio Conte’s role in Tottenham Hotspur’s win vs West Ham

Manager Antonio Conte is currently sidelined from action as the Tottenham Hotspur manager recovers from gallbladder surgery.

Despite still being in Italy and recovering from the surgery, the former Chelsea and Inter Milan manager is very much involved in Spurs’ preparations for their games. He was once again missing from the touchline when we faced West Ham United on Sunday.

Assistant manager Cristian Stellini was commanding the touchline in his absence and did a good job helping us secure an important 2-0 league win at home. Now, Stellini has revealed that Conte was highly involved in the preparations for the game.

Speaking after the game, he said (h/t Daily Mail):

“He was completely involved in the preparation of the match. We transferred to Antonio during the week all the sensations, all the feelings, are the players fit? We decide together about the squad and the preparation of the game.”

However, his influence will be limited considering he cannot freely offer instructions to the team during the game. Stellini continued:

“Not directly but we will have for sure some messages from Antonio… [He will be] involved to send us a message or something like this.”

Stellini is more than capable enough to man the fort in Conte’s absence. Apparently, the ex-Juventus and Italy national team manager could be back in the Spurs dugout by the time we face AC Milan in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League round-of-16.

A few eyebrows would have been raised when Son Heung-min was dropped to the bench against West Ham United. The South Korean then came on and scored to seal an important win for us.

It is unclear whose decision it would have been to give some rest to Son, but it turned out to be a wise call. With games coming thick and fast, it is imperative we do this with more players including Harry Kane, who has been playing non-stop for club and country this term.