Antonio Conte has admitted to Sky Sports that he was delighted with the way that his Tottenham Hotspur side were willing to battle against Everton on Sunday.
A hard fought point
Tottenham and Everton played out a 0-0 draw yesterday, but the scoreline didn’t tell the full story of the contest.
It was a tempestuous affair at Goodison Park, with the second-half particularly heated.
After Everton had a penalty decision overturned, the atmosphere on Merseyside became electric.
Tottenham had to show good mental strength and desire to even claim a point from the contest in the end.
Conte was delighted with the way that his side stood up to the challenge of a fired up Everton side though.
And although the Tottenham boss felt there was plenty to work on, the Italian felt that the application and spirit his side showed would stand them in good stead for the future.
“I started to work with my players on Wednesday. We’ve had two games that were vitally important as we needed to win in the Conference League – we want to be competitive in that competition to give satisfaction to our fan,” Conte said.
“Then to play at Everton is not a good place for the opponent. I have seen some situations in the tactical aspects but the situations I liked were the players wanted to fight. This is the best news.
“For at this moment, the result is good. We needed a point to start. Now we need to keep close to the fourth place and be competitive to close the gap.”
Improvements needed
For Tottenham to close the gap on fourth spot they will need to improve rapidly.
Spurs are already six points behind Liverpool, who occupy the position at the moment.
Conte’s new system does show signs that it could be effective when fully worked on.
But Spurs will have to put together a very strong run of form if they are to close the gap entirely on Jurgen Klopp’s side.
Conte does now have two weeks to work with his Tottenham squad on the training ground over the international break, before Spurs are next in action against Leeds United on Sunday 21st November.
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