Give him what he wants. It’s that simple. The future has the potential to be bright for Tottenham and it is down to the decision they made in November when appointing Antonio Conte.
The Italian returns to Stamford Bridge on Sunday on the back of one of the most thrilling Premier League wins we have seen for years, the remarkable transformation in stoppage time at Leicester when the prospect of a first league defeat of his reign was turned into a potentially season-altering result.
One thing I loved amid the drama was seeing Conte’s reaction to it all, his emotional investment in the team and the way he lives every second of what his team is doing. He’s the kind of character that fans bond with and, regardless of his spell at Chelsea, he is becoming loved at Spurs.
Tottenham Hotspur pulled off a masterstroke in appointing Antonio Conte as manager
The Italian has already started to work his magic and is having a positive influence on the team
I’m fascinated to see what is possible for Tottenham under Conte. If I was in charge of one of their rivals the only players I’d seriously consider buying from their squad would be Harry Kane and Son Heung-min.
Of course there are other good players, such as Hugo Lloris, Sergio Reguilon and Lucas Moura, and I like the emergence of Japhet Tanganga but there is one reason Tottenham have thrust themselves into contention for a Champions League place — and that is Conte.
It still amazes me Manchester United failed to pursued him. This guy is firmly in the top 10 of managers worldwide — you could argue that he is in the top five — and everything about his CV tells you he has come back to London to win.
Perhaps it is a stretch to see Tottenham challenging for the Premier League anytime soon but Conte has won titles with Bari, Juventus, Chelsea and Inter Milan and he didn’t accept Daniel Levy’s offer to succeed Nuno Espirito Santo to waste time.
Conte wants to be competitive, to cause problems for Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp and Thomas Tuchel. That is why it would be crazy if Levy didn’t give him the proper backing to get Tottenham motoring forward again, as was the case under Mauricio Pochettino.
Conte is a proven winner where ever he goes. He is pictured winning Serie A with Inter Milan
Tottenham could challenge the Premier League's finest again under Conte like they did under previous manager Mauricio Pochettino (left)
Here is a manager who commands respect. He will be tight on discipline and the best evidence of that is the fact he banned ketchup and mayonnaise; it was one of those stories that made me smile but having experienced the Italian way of life, I know why he has done it.
When I moved to Fiorentina in 2014, early on during a couple of team meals I put ketchup on my plate. I got a few looks from some of the other lads around the table as if to say: “are you ok?”
They eat fresh food, everything is salad and olive oil. Conte, clearly, demands physical perfection from his players and the smallest details give you an edge. I lost seven kilos during that season in Florence, as the Italian diet is centred on players being lean and light to move quicker.
You get weighed each morning without fail, the doctors check your body fat and the onus is on you to make sure you are living your life correctly. What the ketchup actually signifies is discipline — doing what the manager asks of you and being invested in his
