FEEL THE HURT
Conte wants his TOTTENHAM Spurs stars to hate losing
5.30PM, SKY SPORTS By Tony Banks
ANTONIO CONTE wants Tottenham to hate losing.
And he has warned them that if they cannot take the pressure of chasing a Champions League place or fighting for trophies, they will only be ordinary players.
Conte takes Tottenham to Brentford this evening on the back of an unexpected 1-0 defeat by Brighton last week.
It halted a run of four straight wins which had seemingly nailed them on for fourth spot in the Premier League.
But the loss, and Arsenal’s win at Chelsea, means only goal difference separates Spurs from the fifth-placed Gunners.
Conte’s men are eight goals better off as the pair head into the last six games of the season.
Spurs manager Conte has been trying to drum a winning mentality into his players and has told them they are going to have to cope with the pressure.
“I’m starting to feel that the players hate to lose – and that is important,” said Conte.
“When we speak about a winning mentality there is a process – and it is complete when after a defeat you go back to your house and you are angry. You want to play another game quickly.
“A winning mentality means you have to approach every game in the right way.
“It’s good to live with pressure.
“I don’t remember a team that fought for something important – a title, a trophy, a place in the Champions League
– that did not have pressure.
“You have to try to use this pressure in a positive way, to help you improve, and have the desire to do everything to win and avoid defeat.
“When that happens it means you are developing a winning mentality, and you are ready to reach your target.”
Conte said he did not realise that former Spurs favourite Christian Eriksen, inset left, was available to sign in January after his surprise return from a cardiac arrest. Conte managed Eriksen at Inter Milan but it was today’s opponents Brentford who snapped him up. Conte said: “No one knew the possibility of Christian coming back to football. It was a surprise for everybody.
“To see him now playing at this level is incredible.” Brentford manager Thomas Frank hopes he can both dent Tottenham’s Champions League hopes and boost his bid to keep Eriksen, who has now been linked with a return to Spurs. Frank has expressed his desire to keep the 30-year-old, whose deal runs out at the end of the season. “Of course I’m speaking to Christian but ultimately it’s down to him,” said Frank.