Antonio Conte has called on his Tottenham team to become "more solid, more focused and a bit more nasty" in their quest to secure a top-four finish once again. Making a positive start to the season before results started to tail off in October, Spurs now find themselves five points behind Newcastle United in fourth having played one game more.
The team's up-and-down form could prove incredibly costly to their hopes come May, although they did struggle to put together back-to-back wins at the start of 2022 before going on an incredible run to seal a Champions League finish. Claiming that Spurs are progressing in his opinion despite their inconsistent form, the Italian has opened up on things from last season that they need to start replicating once again.
"No, but I think that we are doing progress in my opinion, in my mind in some aspects. In other aspects I think we have to come back like last season and to be a bit more solid, a bit more focused, a bit more nasty," he admitted.
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"Yeah, because in my opinion we improved in many aspects because also this season we are scoring many goals, we create many chances, our organisation to press was much better than last season. I repeat if I compare the game we played last season at Manchester City, apart from the result I have to be happy much more than the performance of last season.
"Last season I remember very well they had 75 per cent possession and created a lot of chances and we were really lucky. But at the same time, we were really good to stay there, to suffer and to win the game.
"This season, yesterday I think we played a good game and a game that we prepared. A game that a team like Tottenham has to play, face-to-face and open, but at the same time we created chances to score, we score two goals but we have to try to find the same solidity of last season. To learn again to suffer in the moment that we have to suffer together and the whole team because the whole team attacks and the whole team defends.
"I think we are in the right direction from my experience. In my previous experience for example, it happened in my first season at Inter Milan that in Champions League we play against Borussia Dortmund. After the first half we were winning 2-0 and we lost 3-2. We were at the start of the process and I think this (Man City) game remembers (reminds) me of the start at Inter Milan because in the second half we concede three goals and it was really difficult, but then you have to go through this situation to improve and to go to another level."
Individual errors proved costly in Thursday evening's 4-2 defeat against Man City, as the hosts turned the game on its head by recovering from 2-0 down to net four second-half goals. Tottenham have now conceded an alarming 21 goals in their last 10 league games, thus making things very difficult for the team to try and achieve their targets.
"You have to build the game against Fulham and to keep in consideration the first half. Then to give consideration to the second half and you have to take the positive situation and the negative situation," he explained.
"Also I watched the game in the second half but they shot four times and they score four times. They didn't dominate the game or we suffered to stay behind and a lot of chances for them. The game yesterday was really, really balanced. When we were 2-2, we had a massive, massive chance to go 3-2 and I think also it could be different the situation.
"I have to analyse the situation. In the last two games we played against the first and second. In my opinion we show we can play and get good result but at same time there is a lot of situations that we have to improve otherwise you don't lose both games. Against Arsenal in my opinion if we watch the final result, we are talking about a loss 2-0 but then at the end you see their goalkeeper was the best player on the pitch.
"Yes they created difficulty and the coach said they were lucky but this is not enough to be considered a top team and for this reason we have to build on the positivity of the situation of these two games but to understand we have to find again something that last season we had. I don't know why for one reason or another this season we maybe lost. We lost something because a team like Tottenham in the last 10 (league) games we conceded 21 goals. This is not possible for a club that wants to stay there, to try to fight and to be competitive."
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