‘Surely’: Tottenham told they’ve just hired wrong manager, 46-year-old was better choice

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Tottenham Hotspur have made a blinding appointment in the form of Antonio Conte.

One day after Spurs sacked Nuno Espirito Santo, Conte was named as the North Londoners’ new head coach.

It is one hell of an upgrade by virtue of the fact that the Italian has won four Serie A titles and a Premier League.

The 52-year-old is a serial winner and one who should most definitely take Tottenham up a few levels.

But Steve Nicol has told ESPN that he feels Graham Potter of Brighton was the better choice.

The 46-year-old English coach was on the Lilywhites’ radar prior to Nuno, as was Conte, but there wasn’t much speculation about him replacing the Portuguese coach.

And Nicol claims that with Conte’s profile comes a far bigger spotlight – and pressure – on Tottenham than there would’ve been had they gone for the Seagulls boss.

He said: “They surely are better off with a Graham Potter than a Conte. Right now, every single that happens at Spurs is all over the news, all over the paper. Conte’s just going to bring even more spotlight. He won’t have a chance to get things right.”

Is he right?

Well he’s right in the sense that there will certainly be a very big spotlight on Spurs.

Then again, Nuno wasn’t a high-profile appointment, a figure who didn’t bring much attention and look what happened there.

Conte is, simply put, a world-class football manager and if Tottenham want trophies, this is your man.

We’ve said that about Jose Mourinho in the past too but let’s be honest, Conte’s stock is higher now than Mourinho’s was when he arrived in North London two years ago.

Mourinho’s been on a downhill slope for years, whereas the former Inter boss won another Serie A title as recently as May.

This is a far better and bigger appointment than Potter who, respectfully, is unproven at a big club.