Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte has blamed the club and players for lacking fighting spirit following a thrilling 3-3 draw against Southampton at St Mary’s today.
A goal-glutted affair on the south coast saw Conte’s side race to a 3-1 lead after goals from Pedro Porro, Harry Kane and Ivan Perisic rendered Che Adams’ early second-half equaliser inconsequential.
However, Theo Walcott’s 77th-minute strike put the Saints right back in the game, and a stroke of well-deserved good fortunes following a relentless display saw James Ward-Prowse rescue a point from the penalty spot in stoppage time.
Conte was left unimpressed after his side dropped points from a fairly comfortable position in the game, and the under-fire tactician did not hold back when making his feelings clear about the club and his squad in a stunning post-match rant.
“They [Tottenham] are used to it here,” Conte told reporters (via talkSPORT). “They don’t play for something important. They don’t want to play under pressure, under stress – it’s easy this way.
“This is Tottenham’s story. Twenty years of the owners, and they never won something. Why? The fault is only for the club or for every manager that stays here.
“I have seen the managers that Tottenham had on the bench. You risk to disrupt the figure of the manager and to protect the other situation.
“Until now, I tried to hide the situation, but now no, because I don’t want to see what I have seen today because it is unacceptable.”
The draw at St Mary’s leaves Spurs barely hanging on to fourth place with Newcastle United breathing down their necks, two points behind with two games in hand.
However, while Conte was not far from the truth regarding his team’s lacklustre performance, the Italian could face serious repercussions for his post-match comments about the club.
There was already brewing unrest between him and the Spurs owners owing to a supposed lack of ambition in the transfer market.
However, his post-match comments have only added fuel to the fire, and the under-fire manager could yet find himself out of a job sooner rather than later.
There are already several candidates on the club’s shortlist, including a sensational return of former boss Mauricio Pochettino.
Spurs’ next trip takes them to Goodison Park, where they will face Sean Dyche’s dogged Everton side fighting to retain top-flight status.
It would be a surprise if Conte is in the dugout for that game following his post-match fiasco.
