Pundit says Tottenham Hotspur now have a Cristian Stellini ‘problem’ in Antonio Conte’s absence
Cristian Stellini stepped in to undertake media duties from manager Antonio Conte before and after our 3-0 win against Preston North End in the FA Cup at Deepdale on 28 January.
The assistant coach wouldn’t have envisaged what was about to follow in the month that followed. A gallbladder surgery has kept Conte out of action for a while.
The former Inter Milan and Chelsea boss took direct charge of our 4-1 loss against Leicester City and the 1-0 loss against AC Milan in the UEFA Champions League round-of-16 first-leg clash.
Coincidentally, these have been our only two defeats this month. Stellini has, in the meantime, managed us to a 1-0 win against Manchester City, a 2-0 victory against West Ham United, and most recently, a 2-0 win against Chelsea in N17.
According to former Liverpool superstar Stan Collymore, clubs could now be looking at Stellini with the intent of hiring him. The 52-year-old wrote in his exclusive CaughtOffside column:
“Cristian Stellini is doing a great job in Antonio Conte’s absence. However, the problem for Spurs is, when the manager’s number two gets a taste for the outright manager’s job, they often have their head turned.
“Of course, they’re going to want to experience it more because they’ve had a sample of what it feels like to be the top man – the one in charge – the man who is listened to. I certainly wouldn’t be surprised if clubs are looking at him and wondering if he’s worth taking a gamble on.
“I don’t think any clubs in the Premier League, certainly not top-half sides anyway, will be willing to take a chance on him. Still, as for Championship teams, or the equivalent throughout Europe, in my view, it’s a no-brainer for them to be looking at Stellini.”
Stellini has been loyal to Conte for several years but of course, he could have ambitions to make it as a head coach at a major club. He has been the manager at Alessandria (currently in Serie C) and Genoa Primavera in the past.
Collymore makes a valid point. Modern football has seen many clubs become impatient. Given what is at stake, it isn’t a surprise anymore if a team has two or more managers over the course of a season.
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Surely the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool won’t be coming knocking on Spurs’ doors but Stellini can surely hack it at a midtable club here. For our sake, let us hope that it doesn’t happen before he runs his course in N17.
