"All he does when he loses is blame" – Liverpool legend tells Antonio Conte to 'keep crying' in savage dig after Tottenham boss' comments following Newcastle defeat

Former Liverpool great Steve Nicol has slammed Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte for his comments after his team's recent 2-1 Premier League loss against Newcastle United.

Tottenham succumbed to their first home loss of the Premier League season on Sunday (23 October) as Eddie Howe's side registered a statement win in north London.

Callum Wilson and Miguel Almiron put the visitors ahead with two goals in nine minutes in the first half before Harry Kane pulled one back after the break.

Following his side's second straight defeat, Conte complained about certain players being unavailable due to injuries. The Italian also mentioned that he has had discussions with the board about the club needing multiple transfer markets to be effectively competitive.

Speaking to ESPN, Nicol went on an offensive against Conte for his post-match comments and claimed that his injured players would have failed to make a difference on Sunday. He said:

"Come on, every manager in the Premier League after losing a game can say that, 'Well, I've told the board we need more players.' Listen, the injuries he has would not have made any difference in this game. Richarlison, you have got to get him the ball. [Dejan] Kulusevski, again he works hard but you have got to get him the ball in the forward areas."

Nicol also asserted that the Magpies, who are currently fourth in the Premier League standings, were the better team on Sunday. He added:

"After the two chances in the middle of the park, I thought Newcastle outplayed them. So, regardless of who was in the middle of the park, they were not getting close to Newcastle. So, I don't care who the name on the back of the jersey was, they weren't getting close to Newcastle. So, keep crying."

The ex-Liverpool defender lambasted Conte for his excuses and continued:

"All he does when he loses is blame, we always talk about not blaming the players. But at the end of the day, you are going to have to come out and blame either the players or yourself, or something other than the board because you don't have the players you want, because it's getting old and it's just not true."

Tottenham are currently third in the 2022-23 Premier League table with 23 points from 12 games. After taking on Sporting CP in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday (26 October), Spurs are set to travel to Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday (29 October).

Liverpool to finish higher than Tottenham Hotspur in Premier League, says pundit

Former Liverpool winger Jermaine Pennant has backed the Reds to finish higher than Tottenham in the Premier League table in the ongoing season. He told talkSPORT:

"Right now? Yeah [Liverpool are better than Spurs]. Just because they're sitting third, it doesn't mean they're a better team than Liverpool. Liverpool started very slow, now they're in gear. I would put everything I own on Liverpool [to finish top four ahead of Spurs].”

Jurgen Klopp's men are currently eighth in the Premier League table, seven points behind third-placed Spurs, with a game in hand.