Joe Rodon has thanked Antonio Conte for keeping him in "very good condition" despite a lack of regular football for Tottenham in 2021/22. Signed from Swansea City in October 2020, the Wales international had a bit-part role to play under Jose Mourinho before starting four successive games just before the Portuguese was dismissed from his position.
With much expected of the player ahead of this term, he once again had to settle for a place on the Spurs bench in the league and got minutes here and there in cup football during Nuno Espirito Santo's tenure. Things didn't improve for him following Conte's arrival in N17, featuring in just two Premier League games for the Italian as he came on for the closing minutes in May's crucial wins over Arsenal and Burnley.
Despite playing a total of 514 minutes across his ten appearances for Tottenham this campaign, Rodon has remained a regular in the Wales team and delivered some towering displays for his country, most notably helping them secure a 2-1 win over Austria in their World Cup play-off semi-final. Now set to face Ukraine on Sunday for a place in this year's World Cup finals, Rodon was asked about his current situation at Spurs and heaped praise on Conte and the coaching staff.
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"The gaffer at Tottenham he works us all very hard. I can only thank the staff and him of course for what they have been like with me over the course of the season," said Rodon in an interview with Sky Sports.
"They have kept us, even the ones who don't play, in very good condition and I think it's a credit to his team and of course the boys have put in the work as well. It benefits of course and the intensity we train at is very high and I can only be thankful for the condition he's kept me in."
Following Sunday's play-off encounter against Ukraine, Rodon and fellow Spurs star Ben Davies have three more matches coming up for Wales as they have a home match against Belgium sandwiched between a doubleheader against Netherlands in the UEFA Nations League. After a quick break, Rodon will return to Hotspur Way in July for pre-season training and his long-term future should become a lot clearer in the weeks ahead as he targets regular first-team football.
