Tottenham’s latest disappointment triggered a furious response from Antonio Conte unlike just about anything we’ve seen in this Premier League season.
A bizarre 3-3 draw at Southampton in which Spurs — for the second time this year — threw away a two-goal lead offered plenty of discussion points.
Four first-half substitutions for injuries (two for each side), Harry Kane’s 204th Premier League goal, and the baffling sequence of events that ended with James Ward-Prowse’s stoppage-time penalty kick delighting home supporters at St. Mary’s…the raw material for a story about a deeply weird game was all there.
But it all paled next to Conte’s disgust with just about everything at the club, which came through in a nearly 10-minute diatribe that functioned as his post-game remarks to reporters at St. Mary’s.
Conte was predictably asked for his thoughts on referee David Coote’s decision to award Southampton a stoppage-time penalty despite a seeming lack of contact between Pape Sarr and Ashley Maitland-Ward.
Conte may not have liked the call, but as he quickly made clear, that wasn’t why he was seething on Saturday.
“If we are going to discuss about the penalty, to me it means that we don’t want to [discuss the] other situation, okay?” said Conte. “The penalty, I repeat, for me was no penalty. And stop, we close the situation. There was a worse situation, it’s what happened, what’s happening [on] the pitch, what’s happening in the last few months.
“I think that there is a moment to speak, because I think after this performance…for me, this is unacceptable. You’re winning 3-1 and you are in control [of] the game, and you are able to concede two goals, and to risk two [more], because also Fraser [Forster] made a fantastic save in one situation.”
Conte then moved away from a single game problem and began tearing into just about everyone at Spurs.
“It’s much better now to go into the problem,” started Conte. “The problem is that for another time we show that we are not a team. We are 11 players that go onto the pitch. And I see selfish players. I see players that don’t want to help each other, don’t put their heart [into it].
“I prefer to hide the situation, and…try to improve the spirit, the situation, with words, with a lot about tactical or technical aspects. This one situation, the most important thing: if you want to become a strong team, if you want to become competitive, you want to fight to win? It’s the desire, the fight that you need to have in your eyes, your heart and you have to show this in every moment.”
Conte said that he’s been thinking about this problem as far back as Tottenham’s FA Cup lost to a rotated Sheffield United, saying that his Spurs side have not been up to the task from a desire perspective for some time.
Conte rejected any other angles as “finding an alibi” for his squad, accusing one reporter of “only [doing] this excuse for the players.”
“Yeah, ‘but the players,’ maybe ‘my future,’ and then okay, ‘they lost confidence, they lost spirit,” ranted Conte, who slapped the podium before continuing. “Excuse. Excuse. Excuse. Try to plot every time and the situation. Come on. Come on. Come on. We are professional. The club paid us a lot of money, the players receive money. Me? Received money. You understand? And not to find excuses, and [not] have spirit, or don’t show the sense of belonging, or don’t show a sense of responsibility.
“This is the first time in my career, to see a situation like this. Until now I wasn’t able to…compare seasons. So the situation went to become worse. Why? Bah, I don’t know. Because they are used to it here. They’re used it here. Don’t play for something important. They don’t play, or they don’t want to play, under pressure. They don’t want to play under stress. Yeah, it’s easy this way, at Tottenham. Tottenham’s story is this. 20 years that there is the owner, and they never won something.”
Conte wasn’t done, sarcastically dismissing Tottenham’s chances of climbing the table based on their lack of fight.
“We can fight for what? With this spirit, with this attitude, with this commitment? What? For the seventh, eighth place? Ninth place? I’m not used to this position. I’m really upset.”
We know, Antonio. We know.
Watch Conte’s Tottenham rant
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