Antonio Conte has signed an 18-month deal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, replacing Nuno Espirito Santo who was sacked on Monday; Conte took charge of his first Spurs training session on Tuesday; "My coaching philosophy is very simple - to play good and attractive football for our fans"
Wednesday 3 November 2021 19:28, UK
Antonio Conte has vowed to bring consistency to Tottenham by playing "attractive" football and says it is an "honour" to be the club's new head coach.
Conte has signed an 18-month contract - with an option to extend - and replaces Nuno Espirito Santo following successful talks with Tottenham's hierarchy in London on Monday.
The 52-year-old, who guided Chelsea to the 2016-17 Premier League title and the FA Cup the following season, has taken up his first managerial post since leaving Inter Milan and took charge of his first Spurs training session on Tuesday afternoon at Hotspur Way.
In his first interview since being appointed, Conte told Spurs TV: "My coaching philosophy is very simple - to play good and attractive football for our fans. To have a stable team, not up and down.
"I think the fans deserve to have a competitive team with a will to fight. I will do everything to deserve their support. This type of situation pushes you and increases the desire to work and to do something important for the fans of this club.
"This is a great opportunity, an honour to become the manager."
Conte departed Inter by mutual consent in May, just three weeks after leading the club to a first Serie A title in 11 years, adding to the three Italian league titles he claimed with Juventus between 2011 and 2014.
He had joined Inter after leaving Chelsea, where he became one of just four managers to win the Premier League in his first season in English football. Despite winning the FA Cup in his second season at Stamford Bridge, the former Italy boss was dismissed after a fifth-placed league finish.
The Italian - initially targeted by Spurs chairman Daniel Levy in the summer - has the second-highest win rate of coaches who have taken charge of at least 50 Premier League games, with 51 victories from 76 matches, trailing only Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola.
"The past is important and I'm proud. For me, the new challenge is Tottenham. I want them to become an important part of my career as a manager," Conte added.
"The club and Daniel Levy wanted me strongly. There was a call from Tottenham this summer, but I was very clear with Tottenham because I had just finished with Inter Milan after an important season, a tough season and honestly it wasn't the right time to start another experience.
"I prefer to wait, to enjoy the time away with my family and also because I think emotionally I was still with the last experience at Inter.
"Tottenham are an important club in England and an important club in the world. The stadium and the training ground are wonderful."
Conte's appointment sees him reunited with Spurs managing director of football Fabio Paratici, who joined the club in the summer after 11 years in a similar role at Juventus.
Speaking ahead of Thursday's Europa League Conference home game against Vitesse Arnhem, Paratici described Conte as "one of the best coaches in the world" but says success under the new Spurs boss is not guaranteed.
"Nobody can give you assurances to win something, but we have to be focused, committed to this project 100 per cent," he told reporters on Wednesday. "This is what we can do and have to do. We have to do the best.
"I worked with Antonio before and I know him very well. He's a hard worker, has a lot of passion, a lot of knowledge and is one of the best coaches in the world. The track record speaks for itself."
With just under two months to go until the start of the January transfer window, Paratici also confirmed he has held no discussions with Conte so far about possible incomings.
"Not at all, because we trust in our players," he said. "We trust them a lot. We are focused to be better as a club, as a team.
"We need to work hard day by day, but for sure we believe that we can achieve our targets. We have everything here to achieve - big infrastructure, big club, big players, big history. We have everything to achieve big things.
"I think the team is competitive. We trust in the players, we have very good players, so we don't speak about (new) players now, it is not the right time."
Saturday's 3-0 defeat by Manchester United, former boss Nuno's last game in charge, was Spurs' fifth Premier League loss in seven games and left them ninth in the top flight, 10 points behind league leaders Chelsea.
Sky Sports News' Paul Gilmour:
"Tottenham fans will be pinching themselves because just a few months ago, this scenario seemed completely unlikely - that they could attract this football manager A-lister, somebody in the bracket of a Thomas Tuchel, a Jurgen Klopp, a Pep Guardiola.
"Some Tottenham fans may have been forgiven for wondering if this would ever happen, given they are in the Europa Conference League and other problems in appointing a manager and how long it took in the summer.
"But given those problems, they managed to keep Harry Kane and move on some older players in the squad. They have refreshed the squad, so there are players there that Conte feels capable of working with and moving forward in the right direction.
"It's an exciting time for the club. There has been a buzz around it in the last couple of days since this news developed on Sunday evening and now it's official."
Sky Sports' Peter Smith:
Antonio Conte feels like the perfect remedy for the malaise Tottenham have slipped into.
Who better to reinvigorate this Spurs squad, which was passive and lacking penetration under Nuno, than the highly-charged Italian?
He's the antithesis of his tight-lipped Portuguese predecessor and his track record suggests that, from front to back, Conte will transform the approach, application and output of this Tottenham team.
In the final two hours and 16 minutes of playing time under Nuno, Spurs didn't have a shot on target. They rank 19th in the Premier League for shots and only two teams have scored fewer goals. In contrast, in six of Conte's last seven seasons as a manager, his sides have been among the top three scorers in their division.
At the other end of the pitch, Saturday's third 3-0 defeat of the season puts Spurs fifth-bottom in the Premier League for goals conceded. Conte's Inter Milan let in just 35 in 38 games last year.
The back three; the marauding wing-backs; the strike partners working in tandem... An Antonio Conte team is easy to identify. But how will it all come together for the former Chelsea boss at Tottenham?
We take a look at what to expect from Antonio Conte at Spurs.
Sky Sports' Jamie Carragher on Monday Night Football shortly before Conte's appointment:
"I think he was a revelation first time around [at Chelsea]. He's a brilliant character and I'd love to see his personality back in the Premier League.
"But I think a manager is going to need more than 18 months to turn Tottenham around, and even though I am a huge admirer of Conte and how quickly he had success at Chelsea and at every club he's been to, I think it would be very difficult to replicate that success in 18 months at Spurs.
"I think he might need another 18 months on top of that to get Tottenham back challenging, or back to where they were under Mauricio Pochettino, where they felt they had a chance of winning trophies or pushing for the title or the Champions League year in, year out."
In the shorter term, however, Carragher feels Champions League qualification is achievable with the players Spurs already have.
"I think this squad is capable of challenging for the Champions League positions," he added. "They are not a million miles from that right now, and I think Spurs as a club should always aspire to be in that position.
"I think if Conte took the job, you would be thinking that Spurs in the future can definitely make the Champions League because he can make a huge difference. He's shown it throughout his career."
November 4: Tottenham vs Vitesse Arnhem - Europa Conference League, kick-off 8pm
November 7: Everton vs Tottenham - Premier League, kick-off 7pm
November 21: Tottenham vs Leeds - Premier League, kick-off 4.30pm, live on Sky Sports
November 25: NS Mura vs Tottenham - Europa Conference League, kick-off 5.45pm
November 28: Burnley vs Tottenham - Premier League, kick-off 2pm
December 2: Tottenham vs Brentford - Premier League, kick-off 7.30pm
