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Djed Spence has opened up on his relationship with Antonio Conte, admitting that the former Tottenham head coach shattered his confidence with the comments he made about him soon after arriving in North London.
It has been a great summer for Spence, who has been rewarded with a new contract at Tottenham before getting his first England call-up.
The full-back will be hoping to make his debut for the Three Lions in their upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Serbia.
Thomas Tuchel has said that Spence fully deserved the call-up on the back of the way he finished last season and started this campaign, and hardly anyone will argue against that.
Djed Spence opens up on his early struggles at Tottenham
Just weeks after the 25-year-old moved to N17 from Middlesbrough back in 2022, Antonio Conte described Spence as a ‘club signing’ to the media.
The Italian hardly handed the full-back any opportunities, and he was shipped off on loan to Rennes for the second half of the season.
The Tottenham Hotspur man has admitted that he was on cloud nine after making the switch to Spurs, but his confidence was shattered by Conte’s comments and how he treated him.
Spence told The Express: “I would probably say the biggest hurdle is when I signed for Tottenham and I didn’t necessarily feel the love straight away, with the manager and everything. I was on such a high going into the club.
“When I went there, I was on a high, and then I almost came crashing down because of comments from the manager and not playing. I was in a difficult space then.
“I am buzzing, I am going to sign for Tottenham. So to hear comments like that wasn’t nice. It does shatter your confidence a bit. But, you know, I am a fighter. So, whatever I do, I will try to do my best in everything I can. Fast forward, I am here now, so I am happy.
Spence admits he loves proving people wrong
Conte is not the only manager the defender has had run-ins with. His former Sheffield United boss, Neil Warnock, has also been critical of Spence in the past.
Even Ange Postecoglou did not initially fancy the 25-year-old, with Tottenham sending him out on loan to Leeds United and Genoa in the Australian’s first season in charge.
When asked about the various people who have doubted him through his career, Spence responded: “I wouldn’t say I particularly have a list or anything, but I do have a mental note of people who doubted me, for sure, and it does feel good to prove them wrong.
“Obviously, at the time it wasn’t nice, but I feel like I don’t put my energy into certain things like that. I just focus, do what I need to do. I’ve got a good family behind me that keeps me focused.”
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