Tottenham manager Antonio Conte says fifth would be a good finish for his Spurs team to this campaign. After Spurs’ 2-0 defeat at the hands of Aston Villa, Tottenham dropped to fifth in the table. Manchester United, who has one game less than the London club, usurped that valuable fourth place from Antonio Conte’s men.
Following that defeat, Conte spoke to members of the media. There, he made it very clear what his goals are with his current set of Spurs players.
“I want to be honest, I want to be very clear,” Conte said. “I have told this to the club, I have stated my opinions. The fans deserve the best. Perhaps staying fifth is the best. Maybe sixth, seventh, fifth or fourth is the best.”
Last season, Spurs finished fourth with a frantic charge under Conte. On matchday 25, the Spurs were eighth. Twenty-six points from the last 11 games allowed Spurs to overcome an Arsenal team that lost two of their last three games.
Antonio Conte described last season as a miracle, crediting his club’s performance to only appearing in the Premier League and the lack of injuries in his squad.
Conte and Spurs don’t have those luxuries this time, hence the fifth prediction.
Conte aims for fifth with Spurs
Also, the Spurs are dealing with serious injuries. Richarlison, Lucas Moura, Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski are dealing with serious injuries.
On top of that, Spurs are in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League, the FA Cup and the League Cup. It is a far cry from Conte’s time overseeing just the Premier League as the second half of last season. So the season doesn’t get any easier. At the end of February, Tottenham faces Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea and has cup ties with Portsmouth and Milan.
Right now, Conte is relying on the heroism of Harry Kane and Son Heung-min to rescue his side from Spurs. In many ways, Tottenham is his own downfall. Individual mistakes, notably by goalkeeper Hugo Lloris in the most recent loss, see Spurs miss goals. The 25 goals against is the worst of the clubs currently in the top six.
PHOTO: IMAGO/PA Images
