Conte no longer believes Tottenham will feature in the Champions League next year

Tottenham have risen tremendously since Antonio Conte’s arrival, but the Italian coach still has a lot of work to do to get his team into the top four. He himself then described it as literally impossible after a third league loss in a row this season.

Spurs have been doing great under the Italian coach in the Premier League, winning 6 times and drawing 3 out of 9 games. But then came the duel with Thomas Tuchel, which Conte and co. failed to handle, for the second time in January, when Tottenham fell to Chelsea in the semi-finals of the EFL Cup at the beginning of the year.

Southampton, led by Ralph Hasenhüttl, are not among Conte’s favourite opponents either, as the Saints managed to ransack Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after a draw at the end of the year.

Then on Sunday, Tottenham lost points again at home when they fell short to Wolves. Even though Spurs are still within touching distance of fourth place, the Italian coach is somewhat sceptical.

“When you lose two home games in a row and before that to Chelsea, it’s impossible to fight for the Champions League. The problem is that you can’t buy a winning mentality. You have to confirm it every day and there are players who understand it quickly, while others need more time,” Conte told the post-match press conference on Sunday.

Tottenham notched up their 8th league defeat this season on Sunday, managing to win 11 times and only 3 games ended in a draw (the fewest in the Premier League this season).

This of course stems from a great desire to win, even in a hopeless situation, which was beautifully shown by the game against Leicester, which was turned around by Conte’s charges in the last minutes. On the other hand, Southampton, with two goals at the end of the game in the space of three minutes, snatched victory to their side.

Tottenham is currently 5 points behind 4th West Ham, but still has 3 games to play. Because of the number of unplayed matches, the fight for the last place guaranteeing the Champions League will be somewhat unclear, when West Ham, Manchester United, Arsenal, Wolves and Spurs will battle for it.

By the end of February, Conte’s charges will still face Manchester City, Burnley and Leeds United.

Source: Sky Sports, Premier League