Both Tottenham & Conte Need To Find Consistency

From two home defeats on the bounce to last-minute heroics away to Manchester City, crumbling at Burnley and tearing apart a struggling Leeds United, Antonio Conte needs to establish consistency at Tottenham Hotspur.

Historically, Tottenham has had an issue of consistency. We’ve all experienced or heard the comments of ‘what Tottenham will turn up today’ or ‘on Spurs’ day they could beat anyone’. The greatest hindrance of Tottenham throughout its long, established history is the inability to find consistency.

Antonio Conte has been on a rollercoaster of words and speeches in recent weeks. Many statements were made in the heat of the moment. Admittedly, it mirrors the mindset of the average Tottenham fan. Our form right now is as much of a ride as the Italians’ post-match interviews. And here lies an issue.

Spurs had lost to both Southampton and Wolves at home, as well as away to Chelsea earlier in the month, and headed into the Man City game with the opportunity to lose four games on the bounce in the Premier League for the first time in 18 years. There were rumours picking up at a frightening pace that Antonio was no longer happy in north London and could walk imminently.

Tottenham triumphed over Manchester City in dramatic and heroic style, with Conte then quick to tell the media and fans just how much he loves Tottenham and his players. Of course, he mentioned that there was still a lot of room for improvement and growth in mentality, but he made sure to tell us that his players are open to improving and learning, as well as developing their football knowledge.

What followed after Tottenham fell away to Burnley on Wednesday night was a complete undoing of the previous weekends’ sentiment. Conte instantly put his whole Spurs future in doubt, stating, ‘I have to talk with the club’ and ‘I’m too honest to continue in this way and also take my salary’.

Alarm bells would have been ringing in the board room let alone amongst the fans. It’s an emotive response to another avoidable defeat, but it was unprofessional.

Antonio Conte is one of the best managers in world football. He’s not beyond it nor is he burnt out. This is a manager that deserves the full support of both the board at Tottenham Hotspur. Nonetheless, he needs to find some sort of stability in his instant reactions to games. And whilst I respect his passion and fiery nature, threatening to walk away after a defeat to Burnley is something I’d do given the managerial role at Spurs. It’s not something a successful and proven manager should be doing.

Tottenham lacks quality in-depth, as per usual. They lack players who can consistently perform. Harry Winks, Ryan Sessegnon, and Matt Doherty spring to mind. Three players who all had great performances against Leeds on Saturday, but are just as likely to perform poorly, rather than maintain their form, against Middlesbrough in the FA Cup.

Against Leeds, Tottenham looked for the most part, formidable. Sharper, stronger and far more desire to win. Leeds still challenged Hugo Lloris, and they really could have had a handful of goals, but Spurs could have had even more, too. A stark contrast to many of their fixtures in recent weeks.

This contributes to Conte’s headaches and doubts about what Tottenham Hotspur can truly achieve this season. Even after a strong response to the defeat away to Burnley, Antonio Conte has still publicly doubted whether Tottenham is capable of winning the cup and if it’s worth acknowledging the seriousness of their abilities until the later stages of the competition.

Frustratingly, it’s hard to disagree with the notion that Spurs lack a mentality to get over the line. And that even with quality steering the ship, there’s still room for individual errors and a collapse in confidence.

Yet, my point is, whilst we’re outside the perimeters of a transfer window, Conte should work to find mental stability for the players rather than look to viciously berate the team in the face of disappointing results and then highly praise them after victory. especially when he’ll reluctantly call upon the same names in the following match, rather than looking towards the academy.

With only a couple of months of the season remaining, and with Tottenham still somehow in the race for the final Champions League spot and battling to win the FA Cup, it would be beneficial if the emotion and fire are found within the dressing room and training facilities rather than in the press.

A factor in finding consistency could be to protect a handful of the players who still have something in them to offer, even if it is only until the end of the season where they may be sold or replaced.

How brilliant would it be to feel confident going into most games, rather than thinking a great result is closer to a blip than Tottenham re-finding their form under Conte.