THE FULL CONTE
Antonio vows players will win passion stakes after boos reply
ANTONIO CONTE promised to instil passion in his players as he set his sights on the top four for Tottenham.
The Italian was all action on the touchline, celebrating wildly at the final whistle after seeing his team booed off at half-time.
Spurs came from 1-0 down at the interval to move up to seventh and match-winner Sergio Reguilon admitted it has been the toughest week of training in his career.
Conte said: “I have a lot of passion and I want to transfer my passion in this environment.
“You can be good tactically and have quality and organisation.
“But passion and heart, you have or don’t have.
“After the first half, our supporters were disappointed but it was the same for me and my players.
“To have this reaction means you have heart and passion. Now we have to put this into every moment and to improve, work very hard, work together and fight together to make our fans proud.
“We want to fight, we want to improve the position in the table. We want to fight to stay close and fight for the Champions League.
“There is a gap, I’m not scared about this. I trust in my players, I trust in my squad. We want to fight.”
Conte probably did as much running as any of his players with his efforts to whip up the crowd before sprinting on to the pitch at the end to bear hug his players.
An outstanding Reguilon pounced on a rebound from Eric Dier’s free-kick for his first Spurs goal and revealed the boss has even told him to think like a striker.
The Spaniard said: “I am the most happy (player) in the world.
“It’s my first goal in the Premier League and we get three points.
“Now we continue. When we attack, I have to have the mentality of the striker – that’s what the manager wants. Now I feel dead but I am also so happy as well.
“At half-time the gaffer told us to go man for man with extra effort. We gave it everything. This is the way now. Our mentality is like a big team.”
Leeds scrapped and for long periods frustrated a Spurs side who had forgotten how to have a shot on target never mind score.
Incredibly, Tottenham had gone 226 minutes without a shot on target before this game, which eventually hit 272 – a minute after half-time – before they found some range. Leeds’ Jack Harrison skinned Emerson Royal down the left a minute before the break, put over a cross and there was Dan James at the back post to slam in.
Having given Conte a marvellous reception before kick-off ahead of his first home game in the Premier League, the patience lasted all of 45 minutes because Spurs were booed off by their own.
Conte must have worked his magic in the dressing room as his side levelled in 58 minutes.
Reguilon’s cross caused chaos, Lucas Moura picked up the scraps and fed Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg who swept the ball home. Now it was a matter of time. Moura was fouled by Liam Cooper, Dier took the free-kick, it was deflected and hit a post.
But there was Reguilon chasing in to leave Leeds just two points above the bottom three.
Midfielder Kalvin Phillips, who started in defence amid injuries, said: “We are missing some very good players in our team, some very important players.
“It’s not an excuse, although we did come here and play some good football. I’m not one for panicking.”