Antonio Conte has insisted he has no regrets about his attack on Tottenham players at Southampton before he was sacked.
Conte launched into Spurs players after they blew a two-goal lead to draw 3-3 at St Mary’s in what proved to be his exit speech, saying they didn’t “want to play under pressure” and questioning their mentality during a furious post-match press conference.
Speaking for the first time since leaving Spurs in an interview with the Telegraph, Conte said: “At that moment, my feeling was that. If I tell something, it means there is always something true.
“No, honestly, I don’t regret anything about this. But I have good feelings about Tottenham. I keep this experience in my heart.”
Asked if he can be too honest, Conte replied: “I am this way. I hate the lies. This can help me sometimes or sometimes can hurt me. But I prefer to stay in silence than to tell a good lie - also the relationship with my players.
“During the season, it can happen that you need an honest conversation that can be positive or negative. I know very well, I was a player as well and some coaches told me good lies to keep me calm. I don’t want this type of situation.
“I know very well when you have these honest conversations with the players, in the first moment they can be a bit angry. Then, from my experience, the time helps the player to appreciate you. They were angry, but then they appreciate the honesty.”
Just over a month before he was sacked by Tottenham, Conte underwent emergency surgery to remove his gallbladder. He initially came back to work just a week later but then took a further four weeks off to fully recover.
Conte has revealed he pushed himself to come back quickly and it was Spurs chairman Daniel Levy who told him to go home and recover.
“It was an important period with the Champions League, the FA Cup and the league,” said Conte. “I preferred to come back quickly, but then I understood it was really soon.
“It was Daniel Levy who pushed me to go home and recover again. After the AC Milan game, when we lost 1-0 in the San Siro, he told me to stay in Italy to recover well because he didn’t like the way I looked and Tottenham’s doctors didn’t want me to take the risk.
“The club supported me really well.”
