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Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte has said that summer signing Djed Spence is not yet up to the mark to get a spot in the starting XI for their Premier League matches. The Italian manager said this after he was criticized for picking Emerson Royal over Spence for the Lilywhites.
The English defender joined Spurs on a £20 million deal this summer, but has struggled for regular game time so far as Conte prefers to play Emerson in the right wing-back position. The Brazilian has played in the right wing-back position in all but one of Tottenham's eight Premier League games so far this season.
Further controversy arose after Royal was shown a red card against Arsenal in the north London derby. According to Conte, that led to their 3-1 defeat at the Emirates Stadium.
Fans slammed the Italian manager for not picking Spence in the team and blamed his choice to keep Emerson in the team for their loss against Arsenal.
Reacting to the reaction of the fans after the north London derby, Conte said that his job is to pick the best team for their upcoming matches. He added that the players who were left out of his starting XI are not yet ready for the Premier League. He said via The Mirror:
"The fans have to be fans. The fans is the fans, I understand they can think everything but I see every day what happens during the training session.''
"I try to do the best for the team. If they trust me, then they trust me, but the choices are mine. If I didn’t decide to pick one player it’s maybe because he’s not ready. We are talking about a young player with a good prospect, but I repeat I try to pick the best team.''
The former Juventus manager, rather angrily, said his job is to make the best decision for his club, with or without his players trusting his choices. He added:
"I’m not stupid, I don’t want to lose. I try to put the best team, to pick the best team. If they trust me it's ok, if they don’t trust me then I'm the coach and I need to take the best decision for Tottenham."
Tottenham boss Antonio Conte defends his tactics despite losing 3-1 to Arsenal in the north London derby
Tottenham boss Antonio Conte has defended his tactics in their 3-1 loss against Arsenal in the north London derby on Saturday. The Italian tactician said that playing higher up the pitch is not something he prefers as this could prove costly for his side in the Premier League.
Interacting with the press ahead of Tottenham's Champions League clash against Eintracht Frankfurt on Wednesday (October 5), Conte said (as quoted by English journalist Jack Pitt-Brooke):
"In England many times teams concede 6, 7 goals. In my career it never happens. I don't like to play open, to concede a lot of space, to concede 6,7, 8 goals. I think I can teach football... to many people."
