It was a positive day all round for Tottenham on Saturday. Antonio Conte was able to hand the five new arrivals who had not played during the trip to South Korea their first minutes in a Spurs shirt and the Lilywhites won 2-1, on their travels to Ibrox Stadium to face Rangers.
The victory was Tottenham's second of three, in their pre-season run so far, with Roma left to play before the 2022/23 season begins. Conte gave his assessment of his side's performance after the game and was happy overall, with the display.
"I'm happy because I repeat the tactical aspect I'm very pleased. For sure we can improve because we conceded a goal that we can avoid, but I'm delighted with the attitude and the will and desire that the players are showing me in this pre-season. I'm very happy," he said, in his post match press conference.
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Both Harry Kane and Eric Dier started the game in Scotland, with the latter being replaced by Joe Rodon just after the hour mark and Kane making way for Djed Spence to make his debut, in the last 20 minutes. The England captain scored both goals for Spurs at Ibrox, after Conte's side went 1-0 down after 24 minutes.
After the match, the striker opened up on what it meant to score. "Any game you play, whether it’s pre-season or during the season, you want to feel good, feel the back of the net and thankfully I was able to do that today," he admitted post match, on Tottenham's streaming service, SPURSPLAY.
"I thought we played really well as a team. First half, we had four or five good chances we should’ve put away and second half we continued that and did take a couple. Overall, really good preparation.
"I think the gaffer said it was one of the games we created the most chances and hadn’t scored. We’re getting sharp. We’re feeling fitter every game, every training session and these are the games you need. Tough opposition," the 28-year-old added.
Conte has already welcomed six new players to his squad this summer and they have all now played their first minutes in a Tottenham shirt, with five of them making their debuts against Rangers. Kane went on to discuss how it's been with the new players and looked ahead to next season.
"We look good. We’ve had some great additions. We’ve been working hard, the managers been fantastic, all the staff and we got a great team but as always, you have to take that into the season," he explained.
"It’s a long old year. It isn’t just about August or September, its about a marathon and obviously a World Cup in between that as well. Everyone’s moving in the right direction, there’s a really good feel, amongst the fans and us."
Many of these positive comments were echoed by Dier, who confirmed he was fine, after seemingly picking up a knock before his substitution. "We knew it was going to be a difficult game, we knew it wasn’t going to be much of a friendly," the defender admitted.
The defender also spoke about welcoming the new players into the squad. Having six new arrivals before the season has even started isn't something fans are used to seeing at Totteham. It reiterates the change since Conte's arrival and shows the ambition the likes of Fabio Paratici clearly have, to strengthen the Spurs squad.
"I think all the new boys are settling in really well. I think it’s been quite seamless, their transition. It’s been fantastic to build more and more depth in the squad," Dier said.
"I think we needed that to have a more competitive squad, to feel that competitiveness everyday in training and you feel that, so that’s great for us. I think it’ll lift everyone as individuals and lift us as a team as well," Dier added.
The 28-year-old's comment on competition within the squad could be vital for Conte next year. Not only does it mean the Italian has more room for rotation, it also means each player will need and want to work that extra bit harder, in order to get regular game time.
Dier then looked ahead to the upcoming campaign, his hopes for it and he made a big statement about the squad Conte now has. "To be better than last season, it’s that simple," he explained.
"To improve and keep getting better, individually and improve and get better to help the team collectively. I think that’s my sole objective and I think if I accomplish those things, everything else will be better for me individually and us collectively.
"I think there’s definitely a different feeling to one I’ve experienced before here. Just because of the amount of signings before the season and experiencing being in a group with such a strong squad already," Dier added.
"A squad that feels built already and then just the way we finished last season. As I said, it’s about picking up where we left off and definitely not getting ahead of ourselves. I think we can be excited, but we’ve got to be extremely humble and keep working to try and get better."
The positivity from both Kane and Dier is clear to see and it seems to be similar feelings to what a number of the Spurs players have been expressing. Pre-season is going well so far and both Conte and his squad will be wanting to take some of this momentum into what will hopefully be a successful 2022/23 season.
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