Tottenham Hotspur is in a fight if they want to clinch UEFA Champions League football for next season. Three points separate Arsenal, Manchester United, and Spurs from a fourth-place finish; it will be the minor details that play a significant role in who grabs that last spot.
In his column for the Daily Mail, English football pundit Martin Keown feels having a world-class manager in Antonio Conte gives Tottenham a ‘real advantage’ over top-four rivals Arsenal and Manchester United.
“In this feverish top-four fight, Tottenham will feel they have a real advantage over their rivals and that’s because of Antonio Conte and his record,” Keown wrote.
“In Conte they have a coach who has won titles for every major club he has managed – five in total with Chelsea, Juventus and Inter Milan – and knows what it takes to qualify for the Champions League.”
Conte has won plenty of trophies and has the experience of being part of races toward the end of the season, so it’s easy to see why Keown puts his money on the Italian tactician getting Spurs into the top four.
This isn’t to see Tottenham can’t stumble; they have dropped points to clubs below them in the table over the past couple of months. Nonetheless, with this final stretch of the season, Conte will hope that his squad sees that severity and avoids those performances.