Tottenham parted company with manager Antonio Conte; the Italian manager had a bizarre rant at his Spurs players after their 3-3 draw at Southampton; Spurs have 10 league games left and are predicted to finish sixth, according to Opta
Monday 27 March 2023 08:09, UK
Tottenham have a 25-per-cent chance of finishing in the Premier League's top four this season.
According to Opta, Spurs are predicted to finish in sixth place at the end of the season, with just a 25.2 per cent chance of finishing in the top four.
The club parted company with manager Antonio Conte after the Italian slammed his players as "selfish" having thrown away a 3-1 lead at rock-bottom Southampton before being dumped out of the FA Cup and the Champions League.
Spurs have announced Conte's assistant Cristian Stellini will be acting head coach for the rest of the season, with Ryan Mason assistant head coach.
Ahead of Newcastle's win at Nottingham Forest, after which Jamie Carragher had warned that Manchester United were being dragged back into the top-four battle, Spurs' chance of taking a top-four berth had been rated as high as 31 per cent.
Opta now calculates the two teams below them in the table - Newcastle and Liverpool - as having a higher chance of securing a spot at Europe's top table this season, due to the two games in hand they have over Spurs.
In his post-match rant at Southampton, Conte predicted that Spurs could even finish lower than sixth, if they show the same kind of mentality for the rest of the season.
"There are 10 games to go and some people think we can fight. Fight for what with this spirit, this attitude, this commitment? What? For seventh, eighth, 10th place? I am not used to this position.
"I'm really upset and everyone has to take their responsibility. Not only the club, the manager and the staff, the players have to be involved in this situation because it is time to change this situation if Tottenham want to change.
"If they want to continue in this way, they can change the manager, a lot of managers, but the situation cannot change. Believe me."
April 3: Everton (A) - Premier League, kick-off 8pm, live on Sky Sports
April 8: Brighton (H) - Premier League, kick-off 3pm
April 15: Bournemouth (H) - Premier League, kick-off 3pm
April 23: Newcastle (A) - Premier League, kick-off 2pm, live on Sky Sports
April 27: Man Utd (H) - Premier League, kick-off 8.15pm
April 30: Liverpool (A) - Premier League, kick-off 4.30pm, live on Sky Sports
May 6: Crystal Palace (H) - Premier League, kick-off 3pm
May 13: Aston Villa (A) - Premier League, kick-off 3pm
May 20: Brentford (H) - Premier League, kick-off 3pm
May 28: Leeds (A) - Premier League, kick off 3pm
Sky Sports News reporter Michael Bridge:
"I think, after the post-match press conference (at Southampton), it was a matter of when, not if, Conte was to leave Tottenham.
"We reported all last week about the situation, we knew he was back in Italy and we reported first the news that Stellini was going to take training, which was a bit of an eye-opener - and this news that he is staying until the end of the season is a bit of a surprise as well.
"One of the big issues has to be that Conte didn't seem to want to sign a new deal and that deal ran until the end of the season. I, and other colleagues of mine, would ask him week after week about signing a new deal and he wouldn't really want to talk about it; he'd say this was something they'd discuss at the end of the season.
"When you're at a club like Spurs and players are thinking about the manager's future, it just didn't seem right and I think that played a part as well.
"It was a real sliding doors moment at Southampton. They were seconds away from going third, then they gave a penalty away in the last minute and that unbelievable post-match press conference followed. We've heard it every day since and now we get the news that he is no longer at the club.
"It was quite a short statement as well, with no massive thanks from Daniel Levy, but he mentions there are 10 games to go and they are fourth at the moment. This is such a huge point in the season - how big would it be if Newcastle pipped them to fourth, in terms of FFP and finances? Spurs have to go to Newcastle, Liverpool and Manchester United in those final 10 games.
"People have said it's taken a long time but there are legal and financial issues to sort out with Conte, but Spurs fans now have clarity."
It's happened again. Daniel Levy has twisted the knife on yet another Tottenham manager - the fourth time in four years for the Spurs chairman.
Antonio Conte has joined Mauricio Pochettino, Jose Mourinho and Nuno Espirito Santo on the list of managers who have tried and failed to bring Glory, Glory to Tottenham Hotspur.
And for the second time in 23 months, a caretaker will take them to the end of the season. In 2021 it was Ryan Mason, this time the former Spurs midfielder will act as assistant to Conte's former assistant Cristian Stellini.
It all feels a bit too familiar for Tottenham supporters. So has Levy taken Spurs back to square one by repeating what he did two years ago? In fact, you could copy the entire Mourinho scenario and paste it into this season...