Antonio Conte is over AN HOUR late to Spurs press conference

Antonio Conte is over AN HOUR late to his press conference because he was still training his Tottenham players as new Spurs boss gets down to work ahead of Everton clash

• Antonio Conte was more than an hour late to Spurs press conference on Friday
• The Italian boss was due for media duties at 1.30pm ahead of Everton clash
• But he was running behind schedule due to working with stars on training field

New Tottenham manager Antonio Conte was over an hour late to his press conference on Friday because he was still training his side.

The Italian boss was due to appear in front of the media at 1.30pm today but still had not appeared by 2.30pm.

The reason for Conte’s lack of punctuality was because he was still working with his team on the training pitch ahead of their Premier League match at Everton on Sunday. 

New Tottenham manager Antonio Conte was over an hour late to his press conference

When he eventually showed up Conte, who has taken over from Nuno Espirito Santo, said: ‘This is a big challenge. A big, big challenge. I know very well that this club is not winning for many years.

‘But I think I’m here to build the win. The win doesn’t happen after one, two or three days or one month. You must have vision.

‘This club has a great vision outside of the pitch. Now we have to start having a vision on the pitch, on the football pitch. This is important if we want to win.’

Conte was handed an 18-month deal with the option to extend, but he is not concerned about that length.

‘I think my contract is not a problem, 18 months and we decided,” he said. ‘I understood also what this club did for me. We can work together for a long time.

‘I hope so. I think this club if you want to work, you work. You have a fantastic training ground and the club gives you everything.

‘We need to have patience. When you work with a team again, the contract is OK for me.’

Conte took charge of his first match since being appointed Tottenham manager on Thursday night as Spurs beat Vitesse in a five-goal thriller in the Europa Conference League.

‘My first impression, a crazy game a crazy game because we were winning 3-0 and I think we were dominating the game, created many chances to score. Other goals,’ the Spurs boss said after the 3-2 victory.

‘Instead in 10 mins we conceded two goals. In that moment, the confidence we lost a bit of confidence. I think we have to work also in this aspects. But we should win, we should win, and we won. For sure.

Conte took charge of his first match since being appointed on Thursday as Spurs beat Vitesse

‘But [people] who know me very well, [know that] I don’t like when this type of game, this crazy game, I call them a crazy game. I want a stable team, I want when there’s a possibility to kill opponent, you must kill. But for sure, my players showed me great commitment, great resilience, and I think this is a good aspect. I think this team needs to win also suffering. It was important today.’

Tottenham got back down to work on Friday as they prepared for Conte’s first Premier League match since his Chelsea days three years ago.

It seemed the new boss put them through their paces with his media duties running behind schedule.

Spurs make the trip to Goodison Park to face an out-of-form Everton side on Sunday afternoon. 

Talisman Harry Kane hailed Tottenham’s move for Conte which was completed on Tuesday with the 52-year-old signing a £13million, 18-month deal.

Talisman Harry Kane hailed Tottenham’s move for Conte which was completed on Tuesday

He said: ‘It shows great ambition to be honest. His resume speaks for itself, everyone knows how highly thought of he is and what he has done as a manager in the game.

‘You have to respect that. He will work as hard as he can to improve us as players but it is about us as players, taking it in, learning, doing more on the pitch, doing more in training, doing more away from training — whether it is recovery or anything like that.

‘We have a manager and a club that believe in us and the disappointment definitely shows that.

‘It has only been three days but he is a fantastic manager. We haven’t reached the standards we have wanted to over the last couple of years, but we hope that this manager can help us turn it around.

‘But it’s about us and how we take it in because he has done it, he has nothing to prove. He has done it on the biggest stage with the biggest teams so he will give us everything he has to improve us and now it is down to us as players to have no excuses.

‘He definitely brings a lot of passion, a lot of determination, whether that’s on the training pitch or in meetings, in the dressing room.’

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