‘Going or gone’ – Tottenham players deliver verdict on Conte future as they demand ‘immediate’ action
Tottenham players are sure it’s just a matter time before Antonio Conte leaves the club after his furious rant over the weekend, according to reports.
Spurs took a 3-1 lead against Southampton on Saturday – thanks to goals from Pedro Porro, Harry Kane and Ivan Perisic – but Theo Walcott and James Ward-Prowse both struck in the last 13 minutes of the match to grab a point for the Saints in a 3-3 draw.
It led to Conte launching a scathing rant in his post-match press conference with the Tottenham boss refusing to bite his lip in his assessment of his players and the club.
Conte said: “What we’re seeing in these last matches, I don’t like it. I’m not used to seeing this. I see a lot of selfish players. I don’t see a team.
“Frustration is not for today. It’s right to tell the truth and keep our eyes open – the truth is we have to give satisfaction to our fans and we are not doing this – we all have to take responsibility.
“It’s happened before with other coaches. Maybe if we start to think the players have to take responsibility it’s the right moment, otherwise, we’re out of Europe.
“From what I’m seeing to talk about the Champions League is useless because at this moment we’re not a team. We don’t have spirit, we’re not putting heart into the pitch for the badge or the sense of belonging.
“If we don’t have this we will finish the season really badly. It was a clear problem today but it’s the end of a cycle of bad results. The fans deserve much better than this team.”
Tottenham were recently knocked out of the FA Cup and Champions League with qualification for next season’s Champions League now their main priority.
However, that point against Southampton means fifth-placed Newcastle United are now two points behind them with two games in hand as the teams enter the run-in.
For most of the season there has been speculation over Conte’s future with the Italian out of contract at the end of the current campaign and now it looks extremely likely that he will leave at some point over the next few months.
And The Guardian claim that a ‘dressing-room source’ has told them that the Tottenham players believe Conte is ‘going or gone’ with ‘their only question about the manager’s future concerning the timing of his departure.’
The newspaper adds that ‘although it is understood that some of the players would welcome him going immediately. There are serious doubts over whether enough of them are still behind him.’
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