Tottenham's draw at Southampton appears to be the beginning of the end for Antonio Conte.
The Italian delivered a furious 10-minute rant about the quality of his players, the standards at the club and their transfer strategy after being held by the basement boys. It is the clearest sign yet that Conte wants out, with his contract expiring in the summer.
Sunday's rant was far from the first time he has rounded on the club as Conte has developed a reputation for his anger at everyone connected with Spurs when results take a downturn. Here, Mirror Football looks at Conte's most startling rants from his 18 months in charge.
Levy transfer strategy blasted
At first, Conte appeared to be the perfect man to finally deliver a trophy for Tottenham, but things began to get difficult following last season's January transfer window. Five players left the club, with Conte left furious by that strategy.
"For sure, it was strange. It was strange to send on loan and sell one player in the January transfer window. It was strange because it means something went wrong in the past," he fumed at the start of February 2022.
"It was strange, I repeat, in January to send four on loan and sell one player. It means maybe in the past, you have to see what you did and maybe to understand that there were some mistakes in the past.
"Because usually you have to buy players to reinforce your team. But if you send away players on loan you bought in the last two or three years, it means maybe you did something wrong in the past.
"For sure, to lose four players in January, I repeat, is not normal. We shared the decision with the club and the players. But, I repeat, it means something wrong happened in the past."
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Meltdown at Burnley
A 1-0 defeat at relegation strugglers in Burnley at the end of February 2022 led to an extraordinary meltdown from Conte. The Italian went as far as hinting he was thinking of quitting his job just three months after taking over.
"No one deserves this type of situation – the club, me, the players and fans. But this is the reality. I came in to try to improve the situation in Tottenham but maybe in this moment, I don’t know, I’m not so good to improve the situation," he said.
"It’s very frustrating because I know we’re working hard, working a lot and trying to get the best out of every single player. I’m trying to do everything to change the situation but the situation is not changing.
"Someone has to speak about the race for the fourth place, and the reality from the last five games is we have to pay attention to not fight for the relegation zone. This is the truth. This is the reality.
“When this type of situation happens, maybe there is something wrong. I don’t want to close my eyes, I want to take my responsibility, if I have the responsibility. I am open, I am open for every decision because I want to help Tottenham."
Title chances downplayed
Conte was able to turn things around and guide Tottenham to a top-four place, finishing above fierce rivals Arsenal. But after an impressive draw at title chasers Liverpool last May, Conte immediately downplayed the chances of his side winning the title in the future.
"We need to have a path with the team and to create a base and then to improve the base here. Liverpool did this because they created a foundation with Jurgen [Klopp] and they did a fantastic job. In seven years, they won a lot," he said after the 1-1 draw at Anfield.
"He created a monster, in a good way, an amazing way, and he has to be satisfied. But to do this, you have to have time and patience and a lot of things because you have to go step by step.
"It’s impossible to imagine that next season you are going to win the title because I’m realistic and I know there are teams in England like Liverpool and [Manchester] City, Chelsea, also [Manchester] United, who are really strong. And it’s not simple to face these monsters."
Unsubtle message to Levy
Things have continued to fracture this season, even as Tottenham look relatively comfortable in the race for a top-four spot. Early season promise collapsed and a 2-0 defeat at Manchester United led to Conte delivering an unsubtle message over chairman Levy's transfer moves.
"We can improve, we need to continue to work and, for sure, it is right with the club also to analyse very well why when we are going to play this type of game where the level is very high we are struggling," he said.
"I repeat, we can work a lot on the pitch but we need to continue to work in many aspects. The substitutions today with Richarlison and [Dejan] Kulusevski out with injuries were really difficult to try to change the game. Lucas Moura, you know very well, is recovering from an injury with his tendon.
"The other solution to the bench today was we played with three midfielders because we had only the two strikers, and then you know this type of game, we have many young players that this game is difficult for all players and for the young players much more difficult."
Exasperation at expectations
With a top-level manager in Conte, the expectations over what Tottenham should be achieving have soared. But the Italian has struggled to deliver and a 2-0 defeat by Aston Villa in January led to exasperation as what was expected of him.
"Last season, we made a miracle. We did a miracle. But I knew which was the situation and was very clear with the club. Then I recall very well people talked about Tottenham as title contenders this season but this was a bit crazy to read this," he said.
"To become title contenders, a team ready to fight to win something, you need a solid foundation. People think you arrive and you win. This can happen for a team used to winning in the past.
"If you are not used to it, you have to create this and you need time and patience. I understand the fans are disappointed because they had patience for a long time. But you want the truth, I tell you the truth. I know the reality. I am the coach.
"I live the club every day. I know the situation. I know the vision of the club. The club knows my thoughts on the situation. At the start of the season, I was very clear, we can be competitive but try to continue to improve, but also there are clubs who can invest £200million or £300m and others with different policies, and you have to respect the policy."
Conte turns on fans
March has been a horror month for Spurs as they crashed out of the FA Cup and Champions League. The defeat by AC Milan in the last 16 of the latter competition even led to Conte turning on the fans.
"Here, the patience has finished for the fans. The fans want to win [a] trophy. Stop. And then you have to find the right solution to make the fans happy and to win [a] trophy because the patience of the fans has finished," he said.
"And we feel this. I feel this. The players feel this. For sure, this [does] not help the situation. There are many players, also young players, that need to go step by step to grow. We are trying to build something important but if you don’t have patience, it is un-useful.
"We are far from being competitive to fight to win. I say we need time, we need patience. I see that here, the environment has no patience or maybe the environment doesn’t want to understand the reality.
"The club has the patience. But the problem is the club also has to make happy the fans because the fans for many, many years are waiting to win something. I understand that it’s not easy for the club, not easy to invest a lot of money and you are [not] sure to win.
"It’s difficult for me to realise this situation because I am putting [in] everything, me and the staff. At the same time, I understand that maybe it’s not enough. If I have to become [for] the people to take as a target? No, I am not this person."
