Antonio Conte made his feelings perfectly clear when speaking to the media an hour after the final whistle sounded at St Mary's Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Throwing away a two-goal cushion to draw 3-3 against the Premier League's bottom club, the Italian pulled no punches in his assessment as he let fly at his players.
Following a disastrous month for Tottenham with the team crashing out of the FA Cup and Champions League when they really should have advanced, it was as if the 53-year-old had reached the end of his tether and he got everything off his chest in an extraordinary post-match press conference. He was absolutely seething and his players came in for plenty of criticism.
"The club has the responsibility for the transfer market, every coach that stayed here has the responsibility," he said. "And the players? The players? Where are the players?
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"In my experience, I can tell you that if you want to be competitive, if you want to fight, you have to improve this aspect. And this aspect, I can tell you, in this moment is really, really low. And I see only 11 players that play for themselves."
Stating that the team have gone backwards and are now "worse" after not improving from last season, he said that excuses shouldn't be found when pushed about the uncertainty surrounding his future and that the current situation was "unacceptable". Indicating in his final answer that everyone at the club "has to take their responsibility" if there is to be a change, Conte also stressed that this is also the players and not just the club, manager and staff as "it is time to change this situation if Tottenham want to change".
Tottenham's season to date shows that something has to be done in terms of the playing squad this summer regardless of whether Conte is still at the helm or not. The players are the common denominator in the failings under Conte and Jose Mourinho in the past couple of seasons and a refresh of the squad is needed if the team are to get themselves out of their current predicament and challenge for major honours on a regular basis, as they aspire to.
Daniel Levy and Spurs could do a lot worse than to look across north London and the path Arsenal have taken over the past two years. Last qualifying for the Champions League in 2017 and having to make do with back-to-back eight places finishes in 2019/20 and 2020/21, Mikel Arteta and sporting director Edu knew that there had to be a major change at the Emirates Stadium if they were to move forward as a club.
Terminating the contract of Mesut Ozil in January 2021, as well as doing the same with Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Shkodran Mustafi, David Luiz was another to depart a few months later with his deal not renewed. That wasn't the end of the high-profile exits as Willian, who had signed on a big-money contract from Chelsea in August 2020, also saw his deal ripped up a year after joining with his free transfer move a total failure.
Another to find himself in the same boat was Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as his contract was also ended early after a strained relationship with Arteta left the head coach with no option but to feel it was right to cut ties with the striker in order to progress. Arsenal were decisive with their actions and backed the Spaniard as he looked to instil a new culture at the club with academy players such as Bukayo Saka very much at the forefront of his thinking.
The Gunners are now reaping the rewards of their ruthless calls and look on course to win the Premier League as things stand with 10 games of the campaign remaining. Playing eye-catching football and top of the league table on merit, there has been a huge shift in north London in a short space of time.
Arsenal's current success has certainly not helped Tottenham's plight at present with the Lilywhites very much struggling under Conte and at risk of missing out on a Champions League place. With Liverpool and Chelsea likely to be a lot stronger next season and Newcastle United having the cash to take Eddie Howe's squad to the next level, Spurs really have to get things right in the transfer market this summer and also in terms of who is in the hotseat.
Tottenham must follow in Arsenal's footsteps by having a clear vision in mind and to not deviate away from it. What they also must be is decisive in the transfer market when it comes to selling players from their current squad as it needs refreshing with a handful needing to be moved on.
Tottenham face a pivotal few months and what happens next will have a major say in what the future holds for the club. Levy and the Spurs board need to be ruthless and make a statement of intent by showing that they really do mean business going forward.
Failure to do that and then the same old mistakes will just keep being repeated.
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