Conte upset to hear boos and hints he won’t stick around

ANTONIO CONTE was upset to hear Tottenham booed off by their own supporters and issued a veiled threat, hinting he will not stick around if there is no ‘enthusiasm’ and ‘passion’ for him to feed off. ‘We have to show in every moment great respect for our fans,’ said Conte. ‘They pay for the tickets. But at the same time, if you ask me if I was a bit disappointed, yes… because it’s important in every moment to be honest.’ Spurs were loudly booed down the tunnel at half-time, trailing 2-0 against Liverpool having conceded the first goal for the sixth successive game. Harry Kane reduced the deficit in the 70th minute but they could not find an equaliser.

‘I continue to repeat the same thing,’ Conte added. ‘We have just started a process. After one year, we have made a lot of improvement. If someone thinks we are already ready to win I have to be honest and tell you it will be really, really difficult. I can’t promise at this moment to win trophies. We are far from it. I continue to ask for time and patience.’ Conte added: ‘For me, the passion and enthusiasm is my fuel. I need to have this. It’s very, very important for me.’ Tottenham have taken only three points from their last four Premier League games. Three defeats against Manchester United, Newcastle and Liverpool, teams competing with

them for the European places, have cost them dearly. The match they won was a last-gasp salvage job after fighting back from two down at Bournemouth. The ongoing slump leaves eight points between them and league leaders Arsenal. Tottenham captain Harry Kane said: ‘If you really want to be fighting at the top of the league, you have to make sure you find them big moments and come out on top in these sort of games, and we haven’t done that.

‘We’ve made too many mistakes this season against the bigger teams and have been punished and that was the case today. We need to reduce those errors. We have got to be disappointed because we lost the game and we weren’t good enough. To be down at half-time has happened too often this season.’

However, the tide may soon turn — Dejan Kulusevski returned from a hamstring injury in the second half and set up Kane’s goal within seconds. And Son Heung-min is out of hospital after surgery on a cheekbone fracture near his eye.

He is unlikely to play for Spurs in their two games before the World Cup but Conte said: ‘I am confident that he can come back quickly and play the World Cup for South Korea.’