Advertisement

Antonio Conte calls on Tottenham to maintain push for a place in the top four

Antonio Conte wants Tottenham to push on in the battle for a place in the top four (John Walton/PA) (PA Wire)
Antonio Conte wants Tottenham to push on in the battle for a place in the top four (John Walton/PA) (PA Wire)

Antonio Conte wants Tottenham to exploit their position in the race for the Premier League top four against Norwich

Spurs find themselves back in the mix for Champions League qualification after two wins and a draw from Conte’s first three games in charge.

They are two points behind West Ham with a game in hand, which is a quick turnaround from a side that looked destined to finish in mid-table under Nuno Espirito Santo.

Antonio Conte has called on Tottenham to maintain their momentum against Norwich (John Walton/PA) (PA Wire)
Antonio Conte has called on Tottenham to maintain their momentum against Norwich (John Walton/PA) (PA Wire)

Conte is not looking too far ahead, but knows the visit of Norwich is a good chance to further their position.

“I think in this moment it’s more important to go game by game,” he said. “I think it’s very important to look at ourselves, not others.

“The table is surely very important. I always said we want to try to stay close to the first positions. When you stay close, you can improve with work, we can improve with time, to improve many aspects with the players. And then we’ll see what happens.

“Surely we need to improve, to be very good. Also to also hope that other teams can slip.

“But at the same time, we have to stay there, very close. And there’s only one way to do this: to get three points.

“Norwich is another important difficult game but it’s very important to get three points. The players know we have to exploit this moment and situation, have a good momentum and stay there.

“To make points, the table is important. The win (against Brentford) gave us confidence and trust in the work and idea. For us, it’s very important to exploit this situation.”

Conte has been impressed by the talent of Son Heung-min (John Walton/PA) (PA Wire)
Conte has been impressed by the talent of Son Heung-min (John Walton/PA) (PA Wire)

The return to form of Son Heung-min will be helpful, with the South Korean scoring one and making another in the victory over Brentford.

It was Son’s 75th Premier League goal for Spurs but first since mid-October and Conte knows he has a talent at his disposal.

“For me, Sonny is a really, really good player, a top player,” Conte said.

“He’s a modern player. He has great quality. He’s fast, he’s resilient, he’s strong. When you have all these characteristics, it means that you’re a top player and Sonny has all these characteristics.”

Read More

Magda Eriksson warns Chelsea to expect tough test in delayed FA Cup final

Brendan Rodgers seeks consistency from ‘outstanding’ James Maddison

Steven Gerrard backs Ollie Watkins to earn England recall

Ajaz Patel makes history after taking all 10 Test wickets for New Zealand in India

Rafael Benitez confident Everton’s poor form will not cause problems in January

Thomas Frank convinced points will come for Brentford if they remain ‘brave’