Antonio Conte has called on his Tottenham Hotspur players to fight for a place in the Premier League’s top four, but admits that they are underdogs, claiming four teams are much better placed to claim those spots.
The new Spurs boss secured his first Premier League victory with the club on Sunday afternoon as they came from behind to beat Leeds United 2-1.
It was a sluggish first half performance from Tottenham, but they seemed rejuvenated after the break and goals from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Sergio Reguilon secured the three points for the home side.
The win left Spurs seventh in the table and just four points of fourth place, so a Champions League finish is very much a possibility under the uber-successful Italian boss.
There is no doubt that Conte will be aiming for that, but has urged caution, saying four teams are more likely to take the top four than his own.
The former Inter Milan manager didn’t name the four teams he was referring to and while Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea are certainties, it is not actually clear who he considers the fourth as Manchester United do not quite fit his description after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s sacking.
‘Now to think for sure we want to fight and we want to try to improve the position in the table,’ he said. ‘I think and I must be honest in England the league is very difficult and you can lose the points with all the teams.
‘I think right now that four teams, for many reasons, they work with the same coach, they invest a lot of money, with these four teams there is a gap. I am not scared. I trust in my players to fight and stay close.
‘Then if there is one team that slips this season or makes a mistake, we must be there to do our best. I repeat I don’t want to say we’ll finish in this position or that.
‘The club called me to improve the situation for the present and the future. I’m happy because I like to work with Tottenham and I know that I can work here in the way I like and that we can improve to fight.
‘Tottenham in my idea has to fight in every competition.’
Conte will now look to build on the win over the Yorkshire side with Premier League contests against Burnley, Brentford and Norwich coming up in the next two weeks.
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