This week, the Daily Mail’s Chris Sutton stated that the project of turning Tottenham Hotspur into a club that can win trophies is the biggest challenge of Antonio Conte’s career.
During his press conference with the media, the Spurs manager agreed with Sutton’s remarks. The Italian tactician stated that transforming the north London-based club into a squad that battles for the Premier League and European trophies is a daunting task.
“This is a big challenge for me … the biggest, yes,” Conte said, where The Guardian relaid his remarks. “[It’s] about the difficulty, about the position that we are starting. We know that in this moment, the level of the team is medium. We all know; not only me but also the players. But this cannot become an alibi or an excuse. We have to take this situation to push ourselves to improve and look up.”
“The situation is not simple because you know that there are at least four clubs stronger than you. If you ask me if we can fight for the Premier League title, this situation is not simple. If you can fight for a place in the Champions League, it’s not simple. I’m used to fighting to win something, to be competitive.”
After some time away from winning Serie A, Conte turned around Inter Milan to see them lift their first Scudetto in ten years, which is a long time for their standards. In addition, the 52-year-old helped put an end to the streak of Juventus winning Serie A.
Now, he’ll look to put an end to the trophy drought that plagues Tottenham. Their last silverware came in 2008 when they won the Carling Cup, beating Chelsea 2-1 in the final at Wembley.
Over a decade since winning a trophy and never winning the Premier League since its formation in 1992, Conte does understand the difficulty he’s facing as he now leads Spurs.
