Tottenham Hotspur assistant manager Cristian Stellini has, late on Sunday, provided an insight into the role played by Antonio Conte in the club’s meeting with West Ham United.
Italian tactician Conte, of course, was forced to sit out once more this evening, as his side ran out eventual 2-0 victors over capital rivals West Ham.
This comes as the Italian remains in his home country, amid efforts to fully recover from a recent gallbladder surgery.
Conte did actually take his place back in the dugout for a pair of Spurs’ recent outings, against Leicester City and AC Milan respectively.
Following a routine post-operation check in Italy yesterday, Antonio Conte will remain at his family home to recover from his recent surgery.
Health is the most important consideration and everyone at the Club wishes him well.
Cristian Stellini will assume First Team duties. pic.twitter.com/k9L4ZcpGhv
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) February 16, 2023
After being advised that his recovery would be better served away from the touchline, though, the former Chelsea and Inter Milan headmaster today kept his distance.
This does not mean, however, that Conte had no say in developments in north London on Sunday.
Speaking to the media after overseeing the Lilywhites’ latest victory, Stellini provided an insight into exactly how Conte managed to get his ideas across over the course of the 90 minutes against West Ham:
“He sent some texts to the bench and they transferred to me his ideas and we could talk about the game. Antonio is good, he’s fine and he could be involved in the game.
“Many times I wanted to do something, (so) I asked him. Sometimes he allowed me to do it, sometimes he said, ‘Wait’, sometimes he asked us what we felt about players and their stamina.”
Stellini: “I’m not expecting that Antonio Conte is back for Chelsea. But I expect he will be back the week after Chelsea, for Milan or Wolverhampton.” #THFC
— Malik Ouzia (@MalikOuzia_) February 19, 2023
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