Tottenham Hotspur head coach Antonio Conte, late on Sunday evening, made use of his post-match media exchange to send a less-than-subtle message to the powers that be at the club.
Spurs, of course, were back in action earlier today.
After requiring another comeback effort to clinch a share of the spoils at Brentford earlier in the week, the north Londoners turned their attentions towards a Premier League meeting with Unai Emery’s Aston Villa.
Tottenham headed into proceedings in the knowledge that a three-point haul was something of a must, after being leapfrogged into the top-4 by a Manchester United side already boasting a game in hand on the Lilywhites.
When all was said and done, though, Conte and co, once more, simply failed to step up to the plate.
This came as a dismal all-round showing culminated in Spurs being put to the sword by two goals to nil, owing to strikes from Emi Buendia and Douglas Luiz.
Sensational football from Aston Villa! 🔥
Douglas Luiz with a classy finish from a brilliant pass from John McGinn 👏 pic.twitter.com/TF2l6BSd3A
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 1, 2023
And now, as alluded to above, such supporters have been backed by none other than boss Antonio Conte.
Amid seemingly never-ending calls for sufficient reinforcement so as to mount a legitimate title challenge, Conte tonight began by suggesting that any prior push for glory in the Premier League would have required a ‘miracle’:
“We did a miracle, trust me. To become title contenders here you need a solid foundation, 14-15 strong quality players. Then you add two players for £60m, £70m players to improve the level of your team every season. So you need time.”
From here, the Italian tactician then insinuated that the Lilywhites faithful deserve better, essentially calling on Daniel Levy and co. to either spend, or publicly accept mediocrity:
“I want to be honest and very clear. I’ve said this to the club. Tottenham fans deserve the best. Maybe to stay in 5th is the best. Maybe 6th, 7th, 5th or 4th is the best.”
Conte on Tottenham project: “I want to be honest and very clear. I’ve said this to the club. Tottenham fans deserve the best”, tells BBC. 🚨⚪️ #THFC
“Maybe to stay in 5th is the best. Maybe 6th, 7th, 5th or 4th is the best”. pic.twitter.com/syrdTHrHzU
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 1, 2023
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