03 January 2023 , 22:30
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Antonio Conte is the explosive manager who is used to getting his own way.
And his public outbursts generally come just before the transfer window opens so that if he stamps his feet loud enough then he will get his own way. Conte is, after all, a manager who normally comes with a guarantee of success having won trophies with Juventus, Chelsea and Inter Milan.
But while Conte’s latest soundings are unlikely to please Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy, they are not exactly unexpected. It would be naive to think that Levy did not know exactly what he was getting himself into when they appointed Conte because his departure from Chelsea went exactly the same way.
But Conte still managed to guide Tottenham into the top four last season against all of the odds, he is a world class manager to keep the fans happy and now he must decide whether he wants his career to go in a different direction.
Up until now, Conte has always been a “boom and bust” manager just focused on success rather than building a long term project which will deliver a legacy. While it looks increasingly likely that Conte will leave in the summer, he is determined to start laying foundations for long term success.
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But Conte admits he did find it difficult when he first took over that he was at a club where he could not challenge for the biggest prizes like he was used to. Conte said: “When do you work out if you want to accept this? For the start, for me it wasn’t easy, but then… I think this is an important experience.
Antonio Conte is used to getting his own way (Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images)“I accept to do this because I found a great club, for this reason I am happy to work here. I found people who want to be positive and try to create, I found people who know what is the reality, the situation.
“For this reason I accepted this. Otherwise if these people say to me ‘we have to win’, I say ‘Sorry, this is not the right moment to think in one year you have to win’. For this reason I accept this.
“Now my big challenge is to continue to work so strong with my staff and with my players to improve the club, to create solid foundations. If I’m satisfied to continue to do this work and one day see the result, I will continue to stay.
"If I’m not convinced 100% then I can leave my work. But this is big work we are doing together. My task is this. To win you have to stay in the right condition … now I repeat, my task with the club is to create a solid base for Tottenham and come back to be competitive and have the ambition in a strong way.”
Conte insisted after Sunday’s defeat to Aston Villa that Tottenham could not compete with the spending power of clubs like Manchester City, Newcastle, Manchester United and the rest.
Conte even claimed Tottenham’s recent transfers - including a big spree last summer when they bought Richarlison for £50m - was signing little guns against the “bazookas” of bigger clubs.
Perhaps that is why he was reluctant to put a timescale on how long and how many transfer windows it will take for Tottenham to be successful. Conte added: “For now the most important thing is the process has started. This is very important.
Daniel Levy splashed out in the summer for Tottenham signings (NurPhoto via Getty Images)"You can accelerate the process very quickly or you can go step by step. It depends on many circumstances. Accelerating the process also depends on the other clubs, because you want to improve but the others are going to continue to grow and invest a lot of money. It then becomes difficult.
“You only have one way to follow and we have to stick together, for this reason it is important in this moment to have togetherness between fans, players, club, together.
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“We have to stay together and now we are going to do something good if we have time and passion. That is the process I have started. This is the reality now.”