Dejan Kulusevski insists he is happy to continue working under Antonio Conte at Tottenham and was not personally offended by the manager’s recent explosive outburst.
Conte’s future at Spurs remains subject to significant doubt after he launched an astonishing tirade in the aftermath of being held to a last-gasp 3-3 draw by Premier League strugglers Southampton last weekend in which he heavily criticised his squad and appeared to also take aim at the club’s hierarchy.
The Italian had been widely expected to depart Tottenham at the end of the season anyway with his contract expiring and no appetite on either side for a renewal after the club’s disappointing Champions League and FA Cup exits saw their 15-year trophy drought continue, though his St Mary’s rant is widely expected to hasten that parting of ways.
Indeed, an exit during the current international break is now considered very likely. Standard Sport understands that senior Spurs players do not expect Conte to still be in charge for their next top-flight game, against Everton at Goodison Park on April 3.
However, Kulusevski has now publicly stated that he was not personally offended by such strongly critical comments from Conte as he stated his ongoing respect for the manager and insisted he still has a key role to play in north London.
"No, because I know what I bring to the team everyday,” he told Sky Sports while away on international duty with Sweden, who face Belgium and Azerbaijan in their opening Euro 2024 qualifiers in the coming days.
“I know that I prepare myself to do as good as I can and that's why I can always look at myself in the mirror. Sometimes I know I don't play [well] enough and I can take responsibility for that. But what [Conte] said is for him [to say], that's his word. But I respect him, he helped me a lot during my career so he's still a very important man in the club and in my work."
Despite Conte now being widely expected to leave Spurs in the coming days, Kulusevski added that he would have no issues in continuing to work under the former Chelsea boss, suggesting the squad as a whole have not been alienated completely by his shocking outburst.
“He was very disappointed like us players,” he said. “We have to accept that we lost [in] all the cups, we went out of the Champions League. I know sometimes we have to be sad and angry, and that's how he took it. We have to respect his words. Yes, absolutely [I am happy to keep working with him]."
