Ben Davies admits Conte spoke to Tottenham players…

Ben Davies admits Conte spoke to Tottenham players following West Ham win after home truths said

Ben Davies admitted that the absent Antonio Conte got his message across in the noisy dressing room after Tottenham's 2-0 victory against West Ham on Sunday following a week in which a few home truths were aired among the squad.

Conte is currently recuperating back in Italy in his Turin-home after initially returning too soon following emergency surgery to remove his gallbladder. In his absence Spurs won their derby against the Hammers to push back into the Premier League's top four thanks to an Emerson Royal goal set up by a driving run and pass from Davies and then a Son Heung-min strike, after the South Korean came off the bench.

Conte was in constant contact with the coaching staff throughout the game but Tottenham's senior players had also been asked to take more responsibility.

"That’s what Cristian has really asked of us, that the boys with the experience have to do their bit," said Davies, who is just one match shy of 300 appearances for Tottenham. "It’s not easy when you don’t have your manager here, but Cristian and the manager have really drilled into us that if Cristian speaks, that’s the manager’s voice as well. So we’ve been working hard, we’ve given it our all, and we’re very happy with the result today for both of them."

Conte also got his message across from afar after the game, even if it was difficult in a jubilant dressing room.

"Yes, it was hard to speak on the phone to everybody in the dressing room, but Cristian relayed his message, and it will be a case of next couple of days looking at it, and going over the game and seeing, again, where we can improve and what we can do better," said the Welshman.

Other players suggested following the victory that a few home truths had been aired among the squad following their dismal defeat at Leicester after such an impressive showing to beat Manchester City.

"I can’t say too much… but look, when you have a result like we did against Leicester it’s tough, it’s tough to come back from, and the best thing to do is to get it all out in the open and put it to bed, and that’s what we did a couple of days after the game," said Davies.

"I think today you saw a team that was united, everybody was on the same page, and everybody was working hard, trying to pick up three points."

The 29-year-old added: "I think we’ve definitely had to be [more honest with each other]. Especially after last weekend, it was a tough game, Leicester punished us when we were sloppy and I think a result like that today is very important."

Davies grabbed an important assist in an energetic display in a wing-back role that is not entirely natural for him but one he had to fill to allow Ivan Perisic to rest as the 34-year-old Croatian is the only fit left wing-back due to Ryan Sessegnon's hamstring injury.

"When you’re in that position, you’ve got to be defensively-minded but also you’ve got to try to join in the attacks. It’s something I’m happy to do for the team, it was fun," said Davies.

"I’ve played there a few times, at the end of games under Conte, but I’ve not started there under him. It's something that I’ve picked up the details in training that we’ve done with Conte regularly. So it’s not something that I’m worried about doing. It was enjoyable today."

All eyes are now on another derby next Sunday against Graham Potter's struggling Chelsea side.

“Especially after the game against Leicester, picking up the three points where we feel like we can is important, said the Welshman. "That today, I think it was good preparation going into Chelsea, hopefully we can get another good result here."

READ NEXT:

Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.

Already a member? Sign in here