Today, the Spurs boss faced the media ahead of Tottenham’s clash with Crystal Palace tomorrow night.
The Lilywhites head to the game at Selhurst Park desperate for three points after their dismal display on New Year’s Day, losing 2-0 to Unai Emery’s Aston Villa. Match Report here and Player Ratings here
Matters have only been made worse by the fact Antonio Conte is facing a mini-injury crisis ahead of the game, with Rodrigo Bentancur and Richarlison (more on the injury here) both likely to sit out. Conte (via Football London):
“About Rodrigo Bentancur, he has started to work, he is not still ready for this game and also for the game in FA Cup but we hope to have him for the next game in the Premier League. About Richarlison, we have to see. We have to check the situation and to, for sure in the future, he will have another MRI to understand very well which is his situation.”
With both Bentancur and Richarlison likely to miss the game, Spurs fans will be praying Dejan Kulusevski is fit enough to feature. The Swede missed Sunday’s game with a muscle injury and the side clearly missed his creativity in the final third, with the Lilywhites only having four shots on goal in the entire game. Conte on Kulusevksi’s availability (via Football London):
“I don’t know, honestly. Now, I don’t know because we have today and tomorrow to check his situation. For sure, we will see. The injury is not serious. Then, if the player gives his availability, he could play. Otherwise, we have to wait and to have patience for the next game.”
Much has been said regarding Tottenham’s transfer dealings, with a large section of fans calling for Daniel Levy to leave the club – culminating in chants of “Daniel Levy get out of our club” ringing around the Tottenham Hotspur stadium on Sunday.
Conte has of course been very clear of his demands regarding transfers during his contract talks and spoke on the situation (via Football London):
“The club knows which is the situation and I repeat: there is a project and I explained which is this project, that the club has this project to create a foundation. Not me or other persons. I think the situation was very clear”
This uncertainty around transfers has led to many fans to question whether Conte is actually enjoying his time at Spurs. Conte spoke on whether he is happy at the club (via Football London):
“I am happy but I always say to you I am happy. I am happy to stay here. I am enjoying my time in Tottenham, I am happy the way that I am working. I am always saying this. Yeah, I am happy, I am happy but it doesn’t mean I cannot tell you what we are doing. We are trying to create a base foundation. Maybe from the start of my experience here it is I am repeating always the same thing and it is difficult for me every day to answer the same thing. Then to understand that you are not understanding. It is difficult, believe me. It is difficult.”