Antonio Conte claims he is not scared of Tottenham’s ‘bumpy’ road ahead after humiliating defeat to Slovenian minnows NS Mura… as the Spurs boss vows to make Harry Kane’s dream of becoming a champion come true
- Antonio Conte admitted Tottenham face a bumpy road ahead but is not scared
- He watched as his 10-man side were beaten 2-1 by Slovenian minnows NS Mura
- Harry Kane has found the net just once for Spurs in the Premier League this term
- But Conte insisted Kane is already a champion and wants to help him improve
Antonio Conte insisted he is not scared of the ‘bumpy’ road ahead with Tottenham as he vowed to make Harry Kane’s dream of becoming a champion come true.
The Italian’s start to managerial life at Spurs has not been entirely smooth sailing and he is faced with a huge task to get his side back on track.
Conte watched on as his 10-man side were beaten 2-1 by Slovenian minnows NS Mura – the lowest-ranked team in the Europa Conference League who had lost all four of their previous games.
New boss Antonio Conte insisted he is not scared of the ‘bumpy’ road ahead with Tottenham
Spurs currently sit seventh in the Premier League after losing five of 12 games this season.
But Conte claimed he is excited by the challenge as he has proven he can take on ‘reconstruction’ projects after his spells at Juventus, Chelsea and Inter Milan.
‘I have never taken teams that had won the year before, but always reconstruction paths,’ Conte told The Sun.
Tottenham fell to defeat against the Europa Conference League’s lowest ranked side Mura
‘Juve came from eighth place, Chelsea from tenth, Inter from fourth.
‘I know it will take a little patience this time. In Milan I left a finished job. Here I have to start over and enter the current season, which is never easy.
‘We are starting from a-b-c, but on the way we plan to accelerate with the letters of the alphabet. The path is bumpy but it doesn’t scare me, it excites me.’
Despite the bumpy start, one of the attractions of managing Spurs for Conte is having Harry Kane to work with, even if the England captain is struggling for goal-scoring form in the Premier League.
Harry Kane’s form has dipped alarmingly this term and he has scored only one league goal
Conte was keen to entice Kane to Stamford Bridge during his reign there, but has ended up working with the 28-year-old at Tottenham instead.
The striker has scored only one league goal so far this term but Conte claimed the skipper is already a champion as he vowed to help him win in a Tottenham shirt.
‘Kane wants to win with this shirt and my aim is to help make his dream come true.
‘But, in general, the best thing for a coach is to be told at the end of the season, ‘Thanks coach, I have improved with you’.
‘Kane is already a champion but I would like to be able to add one, two or three per cent more to what he has.’