Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte has told Cristian Romero exactly what he expects of him this season.
The Italian coach has forged a reputation for building a fearsome defence at just about every side he has taken charge of – and it appears Romero could help him do that in north London. And Conte has now detailed the two characteristics he expects to see from his defenders this season.
It comes as the 1-0 loss to Jose Mourinho's AS Roma led to an unlikely partnership forming within Conte's side. And Peter Schmeichel has revealed whether he thinks Spurs will challenge for the Premier League title this season.
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Conte makes Romero demand
Antonio Conte has told Cristiano Romero of the two crucial things he wants from the defender this season.
The Argentinian enjoyed a highly productive first season at Spurs after joining on loan from Italian side Atalanta. But despite largely impressing, Conte had to warn Romero over his disciplinary record as he picked up 12 yellow cards in all competitions
And now Conte has told his defender to have "a hot heart and a cold mind" if he wants to be a "winner", football.london reports. He said: "You have to be ready to fight in the right way, but you also have to pay great attention. At the same time, I like when my team go to help another player to create a special unity.
"But every time, we need to also have a mind that's very, very cold. This is very, very important if you want to take another step."
Unlikely partnership discovered
Antonio Conte may have just discovered a very unlikely partnership within his Spurs side.
While Tottenham fell to a 1-0 defeat to Jose Mourinho's AS Roma at the Sammy Ofer Stadium in Israel, there were encouraging signs for Conte ahead of the new season. One of those was watching his defensive partnership impress – in the opposition's half of the pitch, as football.london reports. Clement Lenglet burst forward from his role on the left of the back three, putting in a brilliant cross that Cristian Romero powerfully met.
It shows that Conte could be looking to offer more of a threat from all over the pitch when the Premier League season gets underway at the weekend.
Schmeichel makes prediction
Former Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel says he expects Chelsea and Spurs to challenge Manchester City and Liverpool for the Premier League title this season.
Spurs snuck into the top four in the final weeks of last season, claiming qualification for the Champions League in the process. And Schmeichel says Spurs have "signed well" and have a "very clever manager" in Antonio Conte as he made his predictions for the coming year.
He said: "The competition will come from Chelsea and from Spurs, who have signed well and in Antonio Conte have a very clever manager who is so good at getting the maximum out of his players.
