Harry Winks has shared that it has been ‘nice to hear a manager actually speak to you’, as he made reference to Antonio Conte’s methods and aimed an apparent dig at Nuno Espirito Santo, as the Tottenham player told talkSPORT.
The Tottenham midfielder has shared that he appreciates Conte giving him ‘information’ and also telling him where he ‘needs to improve’.
It has been well over a month since Spurs sacked Nuno and replaced him with a trophy-laden coach.
After Nuno’s sacking, there were suggestions, in the Athletic, that the ex-Wolves boss was quite distant with his Spurs players and hardly had any one-to-one conversations with them.
Whilst Winks didn’t say it directly, he seemingly hinted at the previous manager not speaking to the players like Conte is doing so now and backing up those above claims.
“I do (think he will make me a better player),” said Winks. “He has come in and given me some confidence.
“It’s been nice to hear a manager actually speak to you, give you information, tell you what you need to improve on and to give me the opportunity as well.
“Whenever I go out on the pitch, both training and in matches, I want to give my all for the manager and the club because if I get given that sort of motivation and confidence, then I don’t want to let the manager down.”
In terms of style, Nuno is the complete opposite to Conte and the Portuguese isn’t all-action on the touchline.
It just wasn’t going to work out for Nuno in north London, mainly because he wasn’t even the fifth choice when he was drafted in.
That’s why the Spurs fans were pretty quick to turn on him when they did and it ended in such a brutal fashion for him.
Nonetheless, Winks, alongside Dele Alli, produced his best performance in a long while on Sunday when Spurs recorded a 2-2 draw against Liverpool.
Now it’s a case of grabbing hold of that form and taking up another notch ahead of their London derby against West Ham in the EFL Cup tonight.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
