Tottenham Hotspur’s players believe they are training at an intensity not seen since the Mauricio Pochettino era following the appointment of former Premier League winner Antonio Conte as the club’s new manager, as reported by The Athletic.
If Conte was under any illusions about the size of the task facing him at a club that has gone from Champions League finalists to ninth in the Premier League in the space of just two years, his first few games in the dugout will have dispelled those immediately.
Spurs’ well-publicised defensive deficiencies were clear for all to see as they hung on against Vitesse Arnhem in the UEFA Conference League on Thursday night; racing into a 3-0 lead inside half an hour before spending the next 60 minutes biting their nails down to the root.
Three days later, Tottenham failed to muster a single shot on target – and not for the first time either – during a goalless draw with Everton at Goodison Park.
Conte, then, must find a way to tighten things up at one end while releasing the hand-break at the other.
Fortunately, the former Inter Milan, Juventus, Chelsea and Italy coach is not afraid to get his hands dirty.
What changes is Antonio Conte bringing in at Tottenham Hotspur?
The Athletic claim that improving the fitness of his players is Conte’s top priority, football’s steely-eyed drill sergeant putting the likes of Harry Kane, Lucas Moura and Heung-Min Son through their paces during an exhausting first week at the North London giants.
Those relentless training sessions have been very well received, with the Spurs squad remarking through staggered breaths that their physical levels are already creeping back up to the standards set during Pochettino’s heyday.
After watching Spurs plod around the pitch with all the intensity of an unruly six-year-old stalling to avoid bed time during the reigns of Jose Mourinho and Nuno Espirito Santo, suggestions that Conte is upping the ante – and the intensity – will be very well received in North London.
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