Needs a little time MOURA DEFENDS ANT’S ANGER
LUCAS MOURA reckons Antonio Conte was right to blow a fuse after Tottenham’s midweek horror show.
Spurs threw away a 2-1 lead to lose at home to Southampton as they conceded two late goals in a crushing setback to their Champions League ambitions.
That second league defeat of Conte’s reign left the North Londoners seventh in the table – and four points adrift of the top four ahead of today’s trip to Wolves. And Moura (left) believes the Italian coach was justifiably fuming at the team’s failure to hang on to victory.
Asked about the manager’s mood, the Brazil ace said: “Very, very angry! Very disappointed. We understand because we made some mistakes we cannot make. The small details can make the difference.
“He was very angry and very upset because he repeats this to us almost every day and, even so, we made the same mistakes.
“We agree and are sad because he knows the way to win a competition and to succeed. We want to impress.
“Football is about concentration. If you lose it for one second, you make a stupid mistake. He wants us to be almost perfect. That’s good because we can improve and we have already improved a lot with him. We need to take advantage of having a manager like him.”
Moura, 29, certainly appears to be flourishing, having scored five goals in 18 appearances for Conte compared to one in 12 under predecessor Nuno Espirito Santo.
Ahead of today’s Wolves clash, the ex-Paris Saint-Germain forward, 28, added: “He has a very clear philosophy. He gives me confidence to be free and do what I love to do.”