Antonio Conte warned Tottenham staff after being left confused by fourth-place celebrations

By premiernews On Feb 15, 2024

Antonio Conte has revealed that he found Tottenham's celebrations for qualifying for the Champions League in his first season in charge “really strange”.

After winning the Serie A title at Inter Milan, count He joined Spurs in 2021 despite previously managing their bitter London rivals Chelsea.

Conte helped Spurs return to the Champions League in his first seasonCredit: Getty

He arrived as a replacement for Nuno Espirito Santo, who left the club ninth in the Premier League after a fifth defeat in seven games.

Conte turned out to be a crucial appointment in Spurs They finished fourth in the Premier League, beating arch-rivals Arsenal to seal their return to the Champions League.

However, having won five league titles before moving to Spurs, the Italian warned his staff that their expectations needed to be higher, admitting he was confused by their celebrations despite not having won anything.

speaking to The TelegraphConte said: “For me, celebrating fourth place and a place in the Champions League was really strange.

“At the end of the final match against Norwich, I called my team and said: 'Pay attention, don't be used to celebrating a place in the Champions League.' I was very clear.

“I said we did the best. Going from ninth to fourth place, with all the problems we faced, was a miracle. But we don't celebrate it as if it were a miracle because I'm used to winning.”

Spurs beat Norwich 5-0 on the final day of the 2021/22 season and there was optimism ahead of the following campaign.

Conte and his team had their fair share of problems, however, as they finished ninth in the league and failed to reach Europe for the first time since 2010.

Despite his initial success, Conte wanted to do much more than finish in the top four.Credit: Getty

The Italian left the club last year after cup exits and poor league positioning.Credit: Getty

Spurs finished top of their Champions League group but bowed out in the round of 16 with a whimper against eventual semi-finalists AC Milan.

They were also knocked out of the FA Cup and Carabao Cup in the fifth round, leaving them without trophies for the 15th consecutive season.

Simon Jordan and Martin Keown clash again over the departure of Antonio Conte from Tottenham, after their 6-1 defeat against Newcastle

Conte endured a very emotional season off the field as he had to undergo emergency surgery on his gallbladder.

He also dealt with the tragic deaths of three close friends, Gian Piero Ventrone, Sinisa Mihajlovic and Gianluca Vialli.

The Spurs and Conte parted ways at the end of March, just days after he launched a scathing attack on his players after a 3-3 draw at Southampton.

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