Tottenham boss Antonio Conte wants ‘improvement’ from players despite impressive Premier League record
Tottenham continued their unbeaten Premier League start under Antonio Conte with a victory on Boxing Day.
Tottenham Hotspur head coach Antonio Conte has called for improvements from his players despite continuing their impressive defensive record under his watch on Boxing Day. Conte watched his side thrash Crystal Palace 3-0 in north London to move up to fifth in the Premier League.
There were fears ahead of kick-off about the game’s potential postponement amid a Covid outbreak in the Palace camp.
But Tottenham were up for it from the get-go, and quickfire goals from Harry Kane and Lucas Moura around the half-hour mark strengthened their control.
After the break, Heung Son-min added a third, latching onto Lucas’ second assist of the afternoon, to pile onto the Eagles’ misery.
Spurs have kept four clean sheets in six Premier League games under Conte’s watch, but he isn’t getting complacent.
After full-time, the Italian boss responded to the encouraging stat by affirming there’s still plenty of room for improvement.
He told BT Sport: “There is a lot of space for improvement. To keep a clean sheet is always important, but at the same time to score three goals was positive for our strikers.
“There were a lot of positive things after this game, but in two days, everything can change.
“I tried to give a rest to Harry [Kane] and Son [Heung-min], especially Harry because he plays every game but he is such an important player it is difficult to think about keeping him on the bench.”
Conte acknowledged that Wilfried Zaha’s first-half red card made things easier for the hosts, who are now just six points behind Arsenal in fourth with three games in hand.
“It was three important points. We started a bit slow, but then we got chances to score, and we scored the first and second goals. To play against 10 men was easier for us,” Conte continued.
“But sometimes, despite this, it happens against 10 men that I have lost in my career, and the focus and attention of my players and attitude were good.
“It was a good performance. The most important thing now is to recover well because in two days, we have a very difficult game against Southampton.”
