The media in the press conference room at the Estadio Jose Alvalade were not expecting the force with which Antonio Conte answered a question about Son Heung-min.
In the past, when asked whether he would consider resting the South Korean when he sometimes looked tired and overplayed, the Tottenham boss would laugh and suggest he would be "crazy" to drop Son from his line-up. As the player swept to the Golden Boot on the final day of the Premier League season, sharing it with Liverpool's Mohamed Salah, and hauling Tottenham into the top four and Champions League qualification those words were vindicated and then some.
With Son not looking quite his former self this season, without a goal yet to his name in his seven appearances and just the one assist in the opening game, Conte had still indicated that the 30-year-old was not in line for taking a turn on the bench and after one recent question he almost seem angered by the suggestion.
READ MORE: Tottenham predicted team vs Sporting: Antonio Conte makes key change to Champions League line-up
However, on Monday night that attitude appeared to shift. Whether it is because of the impact Richarlison has made since arriving at Tottenham has meant the club finally have similar quality beyond their usual starting attackers or simply because Conte wanted to send a message to his entire squad, the head coach spoke strongly about the need to change the culture at Spurs.
The end of the question asked in the press conference perhaps helped him craft that message. It was: "Son hasn't been used to being rotated at Spurs because the squad hasn't been strong enough and you'd previously said you'd be crazy to rotate him, but now you have the options is that something that might happen and have you had to speak to him to prepare himself for that at some point?"
Conte may well have bristled at the thought of any player being too big to be taken out of his team or needing special treatment to handle one of his selection decisions. The Italian is already a big fan of Richarlison - as he is of Son - and the Brazilian's signing and the competition he brings is exactly what the Italian wants to change about the mentality at the north London club.
"I think when you try to build something important, when you try to build something with ambition and try to be competitive and fight to win, you have to change old habits, otherwise it means you want to stay in balance and it means you don't want to have ambition," he said in Lisbon on Monday night.
"For this reason all the players have to accept the rotation especially up front, we have four players. For me especially it's very difficult right now to drop one of these four players, but I have to make the best decision for the team, also for the players. Sometimes it's better to rest and don't start a game, to come in and play only 20 or 30 minutes and then play the following games.
"For sure I'm here to try to change the old habit. The old habit was that the players were used to playing in every game. What happened in this type of situation is that you don't have great possibilities to win.
"You try to make the players happy, but big clubs have a big squad, a deep squad. In this moment we don't have a big squad but we have just started to try to follow this path. For this reason what happens with one of these four players will be normal and you have to know it's good for a coach like me to have these options."
Conte could have been hinting that Son will start on the bench against Sporting, but he could just as much be looking towards the Leicester match coming up quickly on Saturday evening as a chance to give the South Korea captain his turn on the bench.
Dejan Kulusevski has been the one named among the substitutes for the past two matches, which has been tough on the Swede who has impressed when brought on. Richarlison has made his impact and Harry Kane has five goals in his past five Premier League matches, even if he is yet to hit his top gear either yet.
Lucas Moura is out injured and that Conte constantly spoke of "four" top attackers only continues to show that he does not believe Bryan Gil is anywhere near a player for the present. That will only further frustrate the talented 21-year-old Spaniard who was desperate to return to Valencia on loan to continue playing regularly and increase his World Cup hopes.
It will be interesting to see whether Conte's new mentality he is attempting to bring in to the club extends to Kane and resting the game-hungry striker. For while Richarlison can cover as a lone striker, there is still no direct replacement for the England captain in the squad.
That could be what the Italian was hinting at when he made it clear that he still doesn't have a "big squad". It is a squad with two players in every position if the versatile Richarlison is seen as Kane cover, with three at right wing-back and Pape Matar Sarr and Harvey White as young central midfield back-ups, but Conte wants more done in future transfer windows to continue to push up the level of those options available.
When it comes to Son, there is a £60m option in Richarlison to allow him to rest. Some Tottenham fans feel the Golden Boot winner looks out of form and needs a moment to catch his breath, while some Korean fans are angered by the suggestion.
The truth is that nobody doubts Son. Even when he goes through periods when his performances do not appear on the surface to match his ability, he is still contributing in big moments. In the Premier League last season he had a couple of runs of games like that, but when you look back across those matches he only failed to score or assist in seven of the 24 Premier League games he was available for from December onwards. That's not including moments when he was crucial in the build-up to goals with a pre-assist or run to start a break.
Son looked sharper in his last Premier League match against Fulham and although he impressed less against Marseille last week, he still provided a crucial moment in breaking clear with great movement and needed to be brought down by Chancel Mbemba, which earned the defender the game-changing red card.
There's nothing wrong with Son being part of squad rotation, to keep him fresher, reducing the risk of injuries and also to give him that feeling of competition to help spur him on. Every footballer wants to play every minute of every game and they no doubt enjoy the feeling of being "undroppable", but subconsciously that can also lead to complacency and becoming stale.
The top players need a challenge, whether it comes internally or externally. Kane also needs that internal challenge with a new arrival in January or next summer, but Conte will also be somewhat happy to see Erling Haaland starting so well at Manchester City.
That's because the 22-year-old Norwegian's incredible first month, bringing 12 goals in seven games, will naturally spark Kane into wanting to prove he is the Premier League's best out and out striker, particularly as City wanted him the previous summer.
With his team selections, Conte is looking to change the mentality not only within the club but also among the fanbase and the media.
Liverpool for instance have attacking options galore - even more so last season - and they are often rotating them into their starting line-ups and few speak of players being 'dropped'. There's an acceptance that the big teams must rotate in order to keep players fresh during busy periods and to maintain a high level across their matches.
That's what Conte is after and it's not just about up front. It's in defence, midfield and out wide.
Football fandom is a funny thing. Many supporters will have their very clear idea of their team's best XI and are not happy when that is deviated from, yet they will also call for more signings to make a stronger squad. The latter though naturally means the former won't be a regular thing.
Managers and coaches will tell you that there's no such thing as a regular strongest starting XI, only the best team on the day to fit a certain game, tactic or opponent.
Conte wants to change the club's mentality to create a hungry, ambitious unit. Not everyone is going to be happy, but it's the direction Tottenham must go in if they are to achieve the "important things" the Italian craves.
READ NEXT:
- Winks not named in Sampdoria squad, Udogie wows, Ndombele frustration - Tottenham loan latest
- Premier League make decision on Tottenham vs Leicester City fixture to end uncertainty
- Daniel Levy reminded of £20m transfer mistake made by Mauricio Pochettino at Tottenham
- Cristian Romero delivers verdict on Tottenham signing Clement Lenglet and discusses his injury
- When postponed Man City vs Tottenham game can be rearranged for after Premier League decision
