Antonio Conte admits he understands the "reality" of what a future at Tottenham Hotspur looks like and has praised the backing and patience Mikel Arteta has had at Arsenal.
The Spurs head coach appears far more settled in north London than he did last season and has been speaking more about the future while vehemently dismissing links with a move away from the club to his old side Juventus. Conte's contract runs until the summer of 2023 and Tottenham have an option to extend it by another year whenever they see fit.
Last season the Italian kept people guessing about his future until the end of the campaign and he was asked whether that would be the case again this time around.
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"I think it will be very important to continue to work in the right way. I know, personally, that we need to have time and a bit of patience to try to build a path to become seriously competitive with City, Liverpool, Chelsea, also United I think and Arsenal. For me, it's important to realise this and understand that we need time and patience," Conte said.
"Then, I repeat, I'm enjoying working with this club and it's very important to have a good relationship with the owner and Fabio [Paratici] to stay in the same line and vision. Then I know in other clubs maybe you have the possibility to have a path not so long.
"Also in this transfer market, you go to try to improve the team but if you see what happens in the other clubs you understand, not that's it's difficult but that you have to go slowly, to work, to go step by step to improve this level. This is the only way we have to go together. To improve the quality of the players, to improve my players and to try to reduce this gap.
"I listen sometimes to people speaking, only because you had two or three good results but it's important to be honest, to know which is the reality and to be ready to fight, to work and to improve the situation, but you need time and patience to improve the squad. Slowly slowly and you have to know that other clubs can go into the transfer market and spend a lot of money and we have to do things with common sense and know this is the right way for a club like Tottenham."
In Saturday's lunchtime kick-off Conte will go head to head with his Arsenal counterpart Mikel Arteta in the first North London Derby of the season and the Spurs boss has been impressed with the backing the Spaniard has received from his club in recent seasons and in the transfer window this summer.
"I think if I see what happened at Arsenal, they're a club who backed Arteta over the years and you're seeing when you trust a person, and Arsenal showed this also in a tough period with Arteta, backing him in every moment, now they're having good results," said Conte. "Last season, don't forget they were in the Champions League [places] in the last three games. They had a good step.
"I think this season they're better than last season. They made good signings, especially Jesus and Zinchenko from a club like Manchester City, two players that are used to winning and having a winning mentality. It's important because I can see they've improved the level. Not only the quality but the mentality at Arsenal.
"I think they're doing a good job. In my opinion it's always very very important to go together, with the coach and the club. If you want to build something important you have to go together, to have a good relationship.
"I think the manager in every decision he is going to take has to have a good explanation to the club. 'Why I want this and not that player.' It's right for the manager to show the vision that you have and then the club have to agree with the manager. To have a great connection, a great link between the manager and the club, for sure you have a future much better than the present."
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