Conte hails big rival Mauricio

ANTONIO CONTE insists Mauricio Pochettino does not need trophies to prove he is a top manager.

Tottenham boss Pochettino has not won any silverware in his nine years in management so far.

But Chelsea chief Conte reckons he doesn’t deserve to take any flak for his empty trophy cabinet.

“Every manager wants to win a trophy,” said Conte, whose side host Spurs in the Premier League tomorrow.

“But I must be honest, if you want to win trophies, maybe for important managers, it’s easier to go to another country if you want to win easy trophies.

“In England never, never will it be easy to win trophies. I think it’s the club who judges the work of the manager.

“Tottenham are a team who, in the last period for many years now, they are competing to win the title. Don’t forget that two years ago they were very close to winning the title when Leicester won it.

“Last season they tried to compete with us. Don’t forget that our end to the season was incredible.

“We won 10 games, otherwise Tottenham were ready to win it.

“I consider Mauricio Pochettino a really good manager. I think he deserves a lot of credit for Tottenham growing.

“You start every competition with six teams, six top teams who are ready to win something during the season. It’s not simple.

“Tottenham have started their project before us. I am talking about my period, my era.

‘‘For sure, now, they are ahead of us. But, despite this, last season we were able to win the title and reach the final of the FA Cup.”

There has been plenty of recent niggle between the sides, particularly the ‘Battle of Stamford Bridge’ in May 2016 when Spurs imploded to hand the title to Leicester.

But Conte says he and Pochettino only have respect for each other.

Conte was invited to spend time with Pochettino and his staff at Spurs’ training ground while still Italy manager in 2015.

He said: “It was a great pleasure to visit the training ground at Tottenham and then to have a good conversation with him and his staff about our ideas of football.

“I spent a good time with him. I enjoyed a lot the time that we spent together.

“He didn’t convince me to take this decision (to join Chelsea) but, for sure, in this moment, to be a coach and to play in this league is a great achievement for a manager.”