Antonio Conte will be hoping his Tottenham side can secure a spot inside the top four and get back to playing Champions League football for the 2022/23 season. Spurs have 10 Premier League games left to play and are currently three points behind fourth placed Arsenal, who have a game in hand.
However if the Lilywhites can make it two wins in two and beat West Ham at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday, they could move up to fifth place with a game in hand over the Irons and Man United. The Italian will be hoping his side can take the momentum from their 2-0 win against Brighton on Wednesday into the weekend tie and get a victory before the international break.
If Spurs do miss out on a Champions League spot then they will more than likely have to settle for a place in either the Europa League or hopefully not the worst case scenario, Europa Conference League. Alongside a European spot, the Lilywhites will be hoping they can end their 14-year trophy drought next season, after their knockouts from the FA Cup and Carabao Cup by Middlesbrough and Chelsea respectively this year.
READ MORE: Every word Antonio Conte said on his top four ambition, Matt Doherty, Kane and Sessegnon injury
The lack of silverware has been a problem at Spurs for over a decade and is something Conte has previously commented on. "Tottenham’s story is this, many ups and downs, but to be competitive, to try to win something, to try to fight for something important and become a strong team, the first thing that has to happen is to be stable and avoid these ups and downs," he admitted before the 5-0 victory over Everton.
"To do this and to change this type of situation that is happening for many, many years in Tottenham, it's not simple. In a short time it’s impossible to do this, not only for me but I think for any manager or coach to come in and change the story in one second."
Since the 52-year-old's arrival he has spoken about time and patience, something Harry Kane reiterated in an interview with Sky Sports, ahead of Wednesday's match against Brighton. "We went two or three years really challenging for titles and challenging for trophies, then we dropped off over the last couple years and I guess now, especially with Antonio, we're building and he's building a culture and a way he wants us to be to put us back in that place," the England captain admitted.
"I've said before, it's not just a quick fix that can happen overnight. It takes time, it takes understanding. Of course he's mentioned he needs to talk with the club and the chairman and see what direction we need to go as a club but from my point of view, we can't speak highly enough of him.
"There's always an aim to get in the Champions League for a club and personally, you want to be playing in the best competitions in the world. My focus is this year, trying to get top four is the most important thing for us now." The constant highlighting of time and patience is understandable with any new manager with a new team but time, in another sense, is a problem Conte needs to work on.
This season, when Spurs have had five or more days to prepare for fixtures, their results have shown that the extra time was needed. This was highlighted with five days between the Man United defeat and Vitesse victory, the Wolves loss and Man City win and more recently from the Middlesbrough FA Cup defeat to the Everton thrashing.
When Spurs have had less than five days to prepare, the effects have been seen in their results. The 1-0 defeat to Middlesbrough came just a few days after the Leeds victory and the 1-0 loss at Turf Moor also came just a number of days after the Man City win.
A team that is battling for a spot in the top four should be able to string together a run of wins, which Tottenham have failed to do in 2022 - with their almost perfect win one and lose one trend. Conte has explained what little time does for him and his team.
"When I have time, more days to prepare the game, then you can plan a problem and arrive in the right moment physically, tactically, mentally to play an important game," he said, earlier this month. "I said to you before when we have four or five days it was then difficult to play against us.
"For sure I repeat when you stay for a long time with one team and then the players know your philosophy and now we are going day by day to improve." With a spot in a European competition looking likely, it will mean Spurs again will be looking to play two games a week on a number of occasions.
Of course, by the time the 2022/23 season comes along, it would be creeping up to a year since Conte's arrival and the Lilywhites would've had the summer to rest, but also spend their first pre season with the Italian. However, it will be vital for the 52-year-old to start the campaign with a strong squad and one that understands his philosophy, so that lack of time between games doesn't put them at a disadvantage again.
The Tottenham boss may have to reintegrate some of Spurs' loanees back into the squad as well as, hopefully, the arrival of some other new arrivals during the summer transfer window. This means that the current squad may have his ideas well drilled into them by August, but then trying to reshuffle to allow players back in or welcome newbies, again will need time.
Spurs have spent the last two seasons outside of the top four and players and fans want to be back in the Champions League. The 52-year-old has shown his success at a number of clubs and his reiteration of time indicates that if he is backed during the summer, next season could be strong for the Lilywhites.
Therefore they have the next 10 games to battle in every match to ensure they get a top four spot, rest in the summer, work hard in pre season so that when the 2022/23 season commences, they are ready to close the gap between them and the current top teams in the league. To do this, Conte will need to continue implementing his ideas and ensure the issue of time doesn't cause a setback in the next campaign.
