Antonio Conte's 'selfish' rant and Tottenham's failure to listen to angry manager

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Antonio Conte's rant on Tottenham players and culture three years ago comes as a reminder of the problems at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium still present

Antonio Conte's infamous rant on the state of Tottenham Hotspur after a draw at Southampton was three years ago. Now, the club face the terrifying prospect of relegation from the Premier League after a number of tough years.

The Italian spent one year and four months in charge at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with him leading the club to the Champions League. However, in March 2023, Conte unleashed a rant on the "selfish players" and running of the football club over the past 20 years.

Following a 3-3 draw against bottom of the table Southampton, a furious Conte unleashed a stinging criticism of the club culture. "I think it’s better to go into the problem, we are not a team,” he said. “We are 11 players that go into the pitch. I see selfish players, players that don’t want to help each other and don’t put their heart [into it].

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"This season compared to last, now we are worse in this aspect. When you are not a team you cannot improve.”

He continued: "They don't play for something important yeah," he said. "They don't want to play under pressure, they don't want to play under stress. It is easy in this way.

"Tottenham's story is this. 20 years there is the owner and they never won something, but why? The fault is only for the club, or for every manager that stay here? I have seen the managers that Tottenham had on the bench. You risk to disrupt the figure of the manager and to protect the other situation in every moment.

"Until now I try to hide the situation but now, no, because I repeat I don't want to see what I have seen today because this is unacceptable and also unacceptable for the fans. They follow us, pay the ticket and to see the team another time to have this type of performance is unacceptable. We have to think a lot about this.”

After Conte's departure, Ange Postecoglou came in from Celtic and enjoyed some success. After missing out on Champions League football in his first season, Spurs won their first trophy in 17 years when they lifted the Europa League.

Postecoglou was later sacked after the club finished 17th in the Premier League table. His successor, Thomas Frank, lasted just eight months with Igor Tudor replacing him with the club flirting with relegation.