Antonio Conte has rubbished Tottenham’s chances of finishing in the Premier League top four this campaign.
When Conte was appointed Spurs manager following the dismissal of Nuno Espirito Santo, there were some who believed he could turn the North London outfit into serious contenders for the Premier League title.
However, not all has gone to plan for the Italian thus far. Tottenham have suffered back-to-back defeats in the Premier League on home turf, a major dent to their ambitions to qualify for Europe’s premier club competition.
Conte appears to have now given up on the idea of finishing inside the top four, despite the fact that Spurs will leapfrog Manchester United into fourth if they are to win all three of their games in hand.
Quoted by the Daily Mail, Conte revealed just how little faith he has in his current crop of players: “I’ve always said that I have to feel only one per cent the possibility to win the league.”
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“Here it is strange because maybe I feel the one per cent possibility to finish fourth. The level of this league is very high and there is not a lot of space for other teams than the top teams.”
What Conte fails to acknowledge is that, while the level is indeed “very high” at the top of the Premier League, Man United’s recent struggles have been well-documented and they still sit in fourth.
Tottenham do have a real opportunity to take that final Champions League qualification position, and no matter what Conte says to lower expectations, it has to be considered a failure if they don’t make it.
