Former Tottenham star Louis Saha has defended Antonio Conte for his explosive rant on the club following Spurs' 3-3 Premier League draw against Southampton at St Mary's Stadium. Ivan Perisic put the visitors 3-1 up with just over 15 minutes to play, but the Saints, who sit bottom of the league, scored twice in the final quarter to snatch a point from Spurs and Conte.
Following the stalemate, which certainly felt like a defeat, Conte answered just four questions in his press conference, but in those 10 minutes unleashed a brutal rant on a number of topics within the club. "They are used to it here, they are used to it. They don't play for something important yeah?" he said.
"They don't want to play under pressure, they don't want to play under stress. It is easy in this way. Tottenham's story is this. 20 years there is the owner and they never won something but why? The fault is only for the club, or for every manager that stay here? I have seen the managers that Tottenham had on the bench. You risk to disrupt the figure of the manager and to protect the other situation in every moment."
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Conte's comments have caused a rift to appear throughout the Tottenham fanbase and the reactions among the dressing room are likely to vary. However, Saha believes the Italian was well within his right to make those comments, comparing his harshness to Manchester United legend Roy Keane.
Speaking to OLBG, he said: "Antonio Conte's comments were unusual, but we all know that Conte is an honest person. He is a very passionate guy who speaks his mind and maybe he had those conversations internally and the frustrations boiled over at some point.
"What he said isn't new information. A few pundits highlighted this information already. Many have said that when everything clicks, Tottenham play really well, but when it goes wrong, the strength goes away. Conte has spoken out in the strongest way and I think there is some truth in it.
"Whether people like it or not, I believe it is about trying to improve. I remember during my playing days, Roy Keane was quite harsh with his teammates. There are elements to take from that. I think Antonio wants this club to improve and is frustrated and that is why he is speaking like this.
"He is not able to run things like he wants to, so he is showing us the weaknesses and wants everyone to understand. Spurs can change the manager, but it will not solve the problem. If Conte is saying it, then I feel it is true!
"They have to do some work to solve the problem as it is there to be seen. No-one can deny what is being said. It is a bit harsh from the manager but there is a bit of reality and the players have to take responsibility as well as the board to fix the problem. That's what causes the frustration."
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