Antonio Conte: Tottenham's mental instability shows we have a long way to go after Southampton defeat
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ByEurosport
Updated 10/02/2022 at 11:30 GMT
Having gone ahead through Son Heung-min with 20 minutes to go, Spurs conceded twice in quick succession to squander what could have been a crucial win in the battle for Champions League qualification. After the match, Conte suggested that he has a big job on his hands to meet the club’s targets this season.
Conte thanks players for ‘top commitment’ after a 3-2 home defeat to Southampton
Antonio Conte has admitted that Tottenham have “a long way” to go if they want to achieve their targets this season, having watched his side twice blow the lead on the way to losing 3-2 to Southampton.
Having gone ahead thanks to Jan Bednarek’s own goal in the first half, Spurs were pegged back when Armando Broja stabbed home a first-time shot soon afterwards. Conte’s side looked to have won it when Son Heung-min scored with 20 minutes to go, only for James Ward-Prowse to tee up near-identical headers for Mohamed Elyounoussi and Che Adams in quick succession.
It could be a serious setback for Spurs in the battle for Champions League qualification. While a win would have set them level with fifth-placed Manchester United on 39 points – and seen them leapfrog Arsenal in sixth in the process – they remain seventh and four points off fourth.
"We have to be disappointed," Conte said. "They were good but I think we made many, many mistakes, especially with the ball, and I think this type of situation creates a bit of mental instability in my team.
"I think we are now improving in many aspects but we are still too emotional."
Asked to describe his emotions after the match, Conte added to BT Sport: “It was a pity. I think in the first half we struggled a bit against them, but we played a good second half.
“We scored a goal but then, at that moment, you have to try to keep the result until the end and not [allow them] to score two goals in a difficult game.”
Assessing Spurs’ chances of meeting their targets this season, he added: “For sure, we know that there is a long way in front of us. We have to be better at managing during the game with different situations, because there are many parts of the game, there is not only one way to play the game.
“I think we can improve in this aspect. When you are [winning] 2-1 maybe you need to pay more attention to not concede the second and third goals.
Spurs were especially lacklustre in the first half, even if it was their late defensive lapses which cost them the game. Asked about his message to the players at half time, Conte said: “I think in the first half we made many, many mistakes and many, many times the pass was not good. We made our life too complicated today.
“I think this is a part of the process. We’re here to try to improve, to understand that when there is a bit of pressure you have to be more accurate with the pass and more accurate in the decision.
“But I think tonight, the players, they gave everything. For this reason, it was a pity to lose the game because, when you give everything, and then you lose, it is not good.”
While noting that his team is still “very young”, Conte finished by stressing that there is “a lot of job to do” going forwards as Spurs look to climb the table. Reacting to his interview, BT Sport pundit and former Tottenham striker Peter Crouch said: “It’s going to be a tough ask, I think he’s got to rebuild here.
“He missed out on some big targets [in January], Luis Diaz certainly being one of them, so I think there is a rebuilding job to do here.
“It’s always difficult for a manager to come out there [and criticise his players], I think he spoke very diplomatically and he might have spoken slightly differently in the dressing room to what he told us today.
“[The result] was disappointing. There were too many individual errors and the amount of chances that Southampton had, away from home, in this stadium, is not like an Antonio Conte team.”
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