“It boils down to asking …” Former Spurs ace says it’s now or never for Tottenham’s players

Peter Crouch believes Tottenham now has a manager that should make them a top English club again and says players will need to have a look at themselves if Antonio Conte cannot get the best out of them.

The Italian has won titles in Italy and England and returns to the Premier League as a manager with one of the best winning ratios in the competition.

Spurs have struggled under Jose Mourinho and Nuno Espirito Santo over the last two seasons.

Conte meanwhile won the last Serie A title in Italy with Inter Milan and dethroned Juventus who had won the previous nine editions.

Spurs haven’t won a trophy in the last decade and fans want an end to that long drought.

However, it is the players on the pitch who have to heed the instructions of their manager and deliver the expected performances.

Although the club has sacked managers in the past for not meeting expectations with the current Tottenham squad, former England international, Crouch believes attention should turn to the players if Conte fails.

He writes in his column on The Daily Mail: “Conte has to be the one for Daniel Levy now. Here is a top manager, winner of five league titles in England and Italy, who still has that fire inside him. 

“If this doesn’t work out yet again then the players have to seriously look at themselves. It boils down to asking whether the squad is good enough and if the attitude is right. We will find out.

“Although they didn’t register a shot on target, it was a good start defensively at Everton.

“I was at the Vitesse Arnhem game on Thursday night and, my word, he has things to correct. Carnage. You could see the tempo go up — they flew out of the blocks — but took their foot off the gas and it becomes the same old Tottenham again.

“Poor defensively, no energy. They reverted to type. It will take time for him to implement his style and he needs fit players to carry that off.”