Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur

Premier League • England

Pundit points out key factor as Antonio Conte tipped to stay at Tottenham despite struggles

Tottenham manager Antonio Conte

One pundit has used Antonio Conte’s own words to explain why the Italian will remain at Tottenham Hotspur, despite their recent struggles.

Conte arrived at Tottenham in early November with the task of getting them back into the top four and in contention for trophies. They have fallen behind the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea since losing the Champions League final in 2019.

Neither Jose Mourinho or Nuno Espirito Santo have been able to get the north London side back into Europe’s elite competition. But the hope is that Conte will have the ability to do just that.

The 52-year-old’s impact is obvious – Tottenham are a far harder team to place against than under Nuno, particularly because they work a lot harder.

Conte is also trying to get the best out of talisman Harry Kane, who began the season poorly.

However, Spurs have lost their last three Premier League matches and conceded seven goals in the process.

That includes the 2-0 defeat to Wolves on Sunday, during which a catalogue of defensive errors resulted in goals from Raul Jimenez and Leander Dendoncker.

Antonio Conte future predicted

Conte is known for his ability to make teams into title contenders, despite their initial struggles. But Spurs looks like another level of difficulty, and that has led to talk of him walking away from the job.

But pundit Steve Nicol thinks Conte will stay. He pointed out the manager’s use of the word ‘rebuilding’, which could suggest a slightly longer-term partnership.

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“No, I think he’ll stay,” Nicol said on ESPN (via HITC). “I listened to an interview he did where he said he was going to rebuild this team, he was talking about how his job is to rebuild Tottenham from the team that played in the Champions League final and how they need rebuilding.

“When someone is talking about rebuilding, you know that he’s looking to the future, so he’ll be at Tottenham this time next year. I expect Tottenham to spend money this summer, no question.”

Daniel Levy urged to back manager

Meanwhile, Micah Richards has urged Spurs chairman Daniel Levy to back Conte by going big once the transfer window reopens.

When asked about their recent form, the pundit told BBC Radio 5 Live: “Awful! Absolutely awful. It’s not Conte’s problem.

“In the summer, he [Levy] needs to spend £100 million plus.

“Get him some proper players. £100 million plus, I would go, maybe £150-200 million, whatever you can get.”

Levy did spend in January, with Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski both arriving from Juventus.

However, Conte was still left frustrated as transfer targets Adama Traore and Luis Diaz joined Barcelona and Liverpool respectively.

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