Tottenham Hotspur correspondent Jack Pitt-Brooke has been speaking on the latest edition of The View From The Lane podcast to reveal a behind-the-scenes claim about Antonio Conte.
The Lilywhites have made some progression under the Italian in the Premier League, having not lost any of the four games in the English top flight and earning 10 points from a possible 12 (via Transfermarkt).
Will Spurs finish in the top four?
Yes
No
And it seems the arrival of the 52-year-old has boosted the club’s ambition for the remainder of the season, as Pitt-Brooke claims the club now feel a spot in the Champions League is a real possibility.
Under their former boss, Nuno Espirito Santo, the north London side had made a turbulent start to the 2021/22 campaign, having won just half of the 10 league games with the Portuguese coach at the helm (via Transfermarkt).
Spurs are set to return to Premier League action with an away trip to Leicester City on Thursday, and speaking ahead of the clash, Pitt-Brooke discussed the club’s new perspective under Conte.
He said: “It’s definitely true to say that the priorities and focus of the club has switched a bit in the last month or so since they got Conte. Back when Nuno was in charge, the targets for the season, I think, were ‘well, of course, we’d like to get into the Champions League, but that’s gonna be difficult, maybe we’ll have to pursue the cups or success in the [Europa] Conference League or whatever else, maybe we can get fifth or sixth, if we’re lucky.
“One of the motivations for appointing Conte in the first place was realising that while [Manchester] City and Liverpool, and maybe to a slightly lesser extent, Chelsea are going to run away, it’s kind of a big gap after that. And fourth is for anyone to fight for. And I think there’s a feeling at the club that they can get fourth.”
TIF Thoughts on Conte’s start at Spurs…
The Italian certainly has not had it easy since arriving at the Lilywhites, with a virus outbreak and injuries to deal with as he aims to get Spurs back on track after their tricky start to the campaign.
However, Spurs now find themselves sitting just three points adrift of the top four in the Premier League and hold two games in hand on fourth-placed West Ham United.
We think Conte will have his sights firmly on finishing in the top four this season, however, we do think Spurs could do with adding to their squad in January if this is to happen.
Spurs remain one of the lowest-scoring sides in the league with just 16 goals to their name. In comparison, the current top four in the table are also the league’s top four scoring sides.
Even if Harry Kane’s form improves before January, we feel a strike partner or at least an option to come off the bench must be added to provide the 28-year-old with some support to boost Tottenham’s goal output.
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