Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte has expressed fears over the safety of his job following his side’s loss to AC Milan in the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League.
The Premier League side held the visiting Milan to a stalemate at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium but the Serie A club’s 1 – 0 win in the first leg was enough to see them through and knock Spurs out of the tournament.
It was a match of defensive solidity from both sides that was also characterised by failure to create enough and take the chances that came. A 1 – 0 loss is not that big of a loss because the side will walk away with their dignity. However, it is a loss that could spell disaster for Conte, who has been unable to deliver a trophy to the team in almost 18 months.
Spurs have now been knocked out of all cup competitions, leaving only the Premier League, a competition which they are also struggling in and could very well finish outside the top four at the end of the season.
Conte admitted that he has underdelivered and expressed fears that the club could sack him or let him run out his contract which ends with the current season before letting him go.
“My contract expires in June,” Conte told Italian TV after Wednesday’s goalless draw. “We will see — they might sack me even before the end of the season, who knows, maybe they are disappointed.”
The former Juventus manager then went to to talk about his side’s performance, especially the finishing, which has left much to be desired.
“That is the third game in a row that we were not able to score,” said Conte. “The game was in the balance. I think we can do much better offensively. I speak about the whole team, not only those who play in the front half. We can do much better.
“I can’t say anything negative about the commitment of the players. They gave everything from the start to the end. We finished the game with 10 men. But if I have to see a positive situation, it is that we had a step forward.
“We played in the Europa Conference League last year and weren’t able to get out of the group stages. Now we took a step forward but it is not enough and if we want to be competitive, we have to fight.”
Conte then issued a word of apology to the Spurs fans and vowed to push on for the best possible finish in the Premier League.
“I’m really sorry for the fans but we cannot invent the win,” he said. “It’s important to know this and not hope for a miracle that one day a trophy comes to us. We have to build and have patience.”
