PLEASY DOES IT
Stellini has attack plan to win over supporters
CRISTIAN STELLINI has spent the week trying to make his Tottenham team more attacking in a bid to win over the club’s fans.
After the narrow win against Brighton last weekend, the interim head coach feels that Spurs are not doing enough to use the intimidating atmosphere at home.
He wants that to change when Bournemouth visit today.
A season watching Antonio Conte’s stifling, counter-attacking football has allowed frustration to build but now Stellini wants to give them something to shout about.
Ultimately, it could be what enables Spurs to sneak into the top four places.
“We could do it,” said Stellini (inset). “We have to play eight final games like eight finals.
“We have to play attacking football. We are trying to push more to create more chances, to try to shoot more on target, to create something that can create a good atmosphere in the stadium and to get the crowd behind us.
“It’s like one player more when you play. And so we have to push ourselves to do our best, we have to play with the right confidence, with the right mindset to bring with us all the fans.
“I don’t think we are speaking about a huge change. It is the work that we work on for a long time. It is about confidence, patience during the game and the style of this team to play in the right way for the characteristics of the players.
“By exploiting more the space that appears, keeping the ball more and try to find the right spaces and superiority on the pitch.
“To play with patience and not to rush in the game or be frantic on the ball. This is the way.
“It is a long time we have been working on this. We want to see the players improving under this aspect.”
Stellini had previously been staunchly loyal to the tactics he helped employ under Conte.
Even now, the Italian coach refuses to be drawn on the principles involved when his contract is such a short one.
The reality is that winning back the crowd at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is rather more to do with the players themselves. Stellini said: “We have to play strong. We have to go with desire. “You bring the crowd with you if you go strong.
“I am a young manager, I have got eight games to play. I am not going to talk about philosophy. It’s reality, reality. I don’t answer any more questions about philosophy. “Tomorrow we have to go out there and play strong. This is the thing.”