Antonio Conte admits Tottenham challenge is harder than previous jobs

Tottenham manager Antonio Conte has admitted that the challenge he faces at Spurs is ‘more difficult’ than those he previously faced at former clubs Juventus, Chelsea and Inter.

Having cut his managerial teeth in Serie B, Conte’s immediate remit at each of his last three clubs since 2011 has been to win league titles – and he has done it with each of them. But his job at Spurs will require more of an initial rebuild before he can deliver that success.

Despite the scale of the challenge, Conte insists he is looking forward to it.

“For sure, for me this is another big challenge, like Juventus, Chelsea, Atalanta, Inter. Maybe this is a bit more difficult than before, but I enjoy this type of situation,” he told Sky Sports.

“[The Premier League title] is my expectation, my target, but also the expectation of Tottenham. This club tries to be competitive and tries to fight teams that now, I think, are higher than us.

“But our target is to start to work very hard, to try to reduce the gap, and then to have a team stable [enough] to stay there and fight with other important clubs like us.”

Conte has overseen a 3-2 Europa Conference League victory over Vitesse Arnhem and a 0-0 Premier League draw with Everton since replacing Nuno Espirito Santo less than three weeks ago.

Speaking after the Vitesse game, which saw Spurs risk throwing away a 3-0 lead, Conte admitted the level of work needed to whip the squad into shape required time and patience.

“We need to have a bit of patience because we need to work and there are many, many aspects, tactically and physically. Also, the players have to understand what I want,” he said.

“I’m not afraid of the work because I know, in my life, that only through the work you can reach important targets.”

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