Antonio Conte admits Tottenham supporters have had enough of poor form
‘Patience is FINISHED for the fans’: Antonio Conte admits Tottenham supporters have had ENOUGH of the club’s poor form and asks for time to turn the side’s fortunes around… but admits he won’t ‘kill himself’ to help the club
- Fans booed the players off as the side were knocked out the Champions League
- Conte is out of contract at the end of the season and is expected to leave Spurs
- He defended his decision to bring on Davinson Sanchez for Dejan Kulusevski
Antonio Conte hit out at the impatience of Tottenham supporters as he vowed to fight to the end of the season but warned he is not going to ‘kill himself’ for the cause.
The Spurs boss is out of contract in June and expected to leave, and reinforced this feeling as he shared his frustrations on life as the public face of an illustrious club without a trophy for 15 years.
‘We are far to aspire to be competitive to fight to win,’ said Conte. ‘The reality is this, we need time and patience.
‘I understood that here the patience is finished for the fans, for the environment and then we will see what happens in the future. I am not so stupid to kill myself.
‘For sure this has to be clear. If you ask me now, “are you ready now to die for this club?” Yes. Until the end, I am ready to die for this club and then we will see because I am not so stupid to continue to kill myself.
Antonio Conte has admitted he knows supports have lost patience with his side’s poor form
Spurs went out of the Champions League on Wednesday with a disappointing showing against AC Milan
‘We signed a contract, a strange contract, one-year-and-a-half. Usually you sign a contract for three years but I think it was for the club and also for myself to see the situation.
‘For the club to understand my personality, my capacity as a coach and for me from my side it was also the same. To understand if we were on the same page and if we wanted to do something important.
‘Now after one year and a half, the club knows me, I know the club and this situation is clear. For this reason we have to finish the season and then we will see.
‘The club knows very well what are my thoughts. I am ready to die for this club until the end of the season. Then if you ask me, we’ll make the decision with the club and the club knows very well my thoughts.’
Conte was jeered by Tottenham fans when he introduced defender Davinson Sanchez as a late substitute for Dejan Kulusevski against AC Milan on Wednesday when his team lost Cristian Romero to a red card but still needed a goal to win the tie.
Conte defended his decision to bring Davinson Sanchez (pictured) on for Dejan Kulusevski late on
Harry Kane almost scored in stoppage time but a goalless draw sent Spurs out, 1-0 on aggregate.
‘We had three strikers,’ said Conte, laughing and shaking his head. ‘We stayed with three strikers. Sonny, Kane and Richarlison and then we put on Pedro Porro and played with a 3-4-3. Without one player we played a 3-3-3 or 3-2-4 but do you think that if you win the game only because you play with a striker?
‘You have to risk but at the same time don’t lose the balance if you want to keep one chance. And then we had the chance. But if you think in that moment we can play with four strikers, or do 2-2-4 against Milan with the counter-attack and the space?
‘I do my job and everyone has to do their jobs. I think I have a career behind of me and the experience to try to make the best decision. This is okay but the fans, I understand the fans, but I am the coach, I have to always try to find the best solution for the team and at that time it was the best solution.’
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