Antonio Conte has left Spurs fans’ excited with comments on his future as he spoke with the press ahead of the pre-season friendly.
There have been many speculations about Conte’s future since he took over last year. At one point towards the end of last season after a 1-0 defeat to Burnley, there were reports he could leave just months after taking over the club.
However, despite the rumours, Spurs’ hierarchy seems to have full confidence in Conte and have shown their trust through proper backing this summer having spent over 100m euros in signings already and with reportedly complete say over all signings.
When asked about the coming season and the squad he’s building, he seemed to have admitted that he is building ‘something important that can be competitive for ‘many years’ and hinted toward staying that long to achieve the goal. He said (via football.london):
“As I’ve said before, our project, our plan is to try to become competitive, more than the past, but you know very well that in football you build something important in one day, one month, one year you have go step by step and try to increase the quality, increase the number of players in your squad.
“Don’t forget that when a team stay in the top four and play European games you need to face four competitions in the best possible way.
“To do this you need a good squad with good quality. We are trying to do this but we have just started this process. Last season I think we worked very well to reach a place in the Champions League.
“At the same time I think we exploited problems, United’s problems and in the last three games Arsenal were four points up on us and for this reason we have to continue with the club to build with the players, to continue to improve them.
“They have a lot of space for improvement. This is a young team and we can work for many years together to improve and fight with the best teams in England and in Europe.”
This could be the biggest hint to date that Conte has given about staying at the club longer than his current contract. This is something very unlike of Conte as he is a manager known for his short but successful stays at clubs. He has never managed a club for longer than 3 years with the last 2 of his jobs both lasting just 2 years. However, he has made a name by becoming a serial winner regardless of where he is and for how long he is, which is something Spurs will hope for as they aim to compete for silverware this season.
Agreed a new owner is one thing but they have ripped up their internal infrastructure too which didnt need any tinkering..
You have to be careful what you wish for. Boehly himself was interested at one point. It looks like a complete shower over there.
IMHO there will always be a gap in aspiration/expectation between ENIC and Conte. Hopefully Conte can strongarm the board a bit in the short term and we make good progress before it blows up.
This is encouraging and might indicate that ENIC might be looking to sell.