I’M HAPPY, WE SHOWED HEART AND PASSION
ANTONIO CONTE says he wants to inject Tottenham Hotspur with passion after the Italian coach turned cheerleader during his victorious first home game in charge yesterday. Conte called on supporters to start making noise towards the end of this match when, with Tottenham leading 2-1, the stadium was too quiet for his liking. They responded to his request and at full-time the Spurs manager celebrated wildly with his staff. ‘It’s a good win and it’s right to celebrate with passion,’ Conte said afterwards. ‘I have great passion and want to transfer my passion in all of this environment. ‘You can be good tactically, you can have quality, you can have organisation. But the passion and heart, you have it or you don’t have it.’ His players were booed at half-time, when trailing 1-0. ‘Our supporters were disappointed but it was the same for me and my players,’ Conte said. ‘To have this reaction (in the second half) means you have heart and passion, and now we have to put this into every moment.’ Despite this win, Conte insisted that Spurs remain outsiders in the race for the Premier League’s top four, but that they must be ready to pounce in case rival clubs start to slip. ‘At this moment, there are four teams and there is a gap,’ he added, presumably meaning the current top four of Chelsea, Manchester City, Liverpool and West Ham. ‘But I’m not scared about this. I trust my players and we want to fight and try to stay close. If there is one team that slips up this season or makes mistakes, we must be there. ‘We need to improve. The club called me to improve the situation for the present but also the future. Tottenham has to fight and be competitive in every competition this season.’ Kalvin Phillips was surprisingly used at centre back for Leeds, with the 25-year-old told to man-mark his England colleague Harry Kane. ‘I thought he was the best player to go with Kane when he drops to pick up the ball,’ said Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa. He went on to insist it was his own fault that the second half did not go to plan as Spurs’ midfield started to control possession. ‘I started seeing that problem,’ added the Leeds manager. ‘My task is to see the problem and solve it, and I didn’t do this.’