Antonio Conte has opened up about the challenges that he faces as Tottenham's new boss after his side's dramatic 3-2 win over Vitesse Arnhem on Thursday, as he began his tenure in North London on a winning note.
Conte was in charge of Harry Kane and his men for the first time after his appointment earlier this week. He guided them to a seesaw triumph in the European Conference League.
Spurs got off to a quickfire start in the game as they cruised to a 3-0 lead in the first half, but then lost their way as they conceded two goals in the second half. Eventually, though, the North Londoners held their nerve to secure a 3-2 victory.
After the match, Conte acknowledged that it was a "crazy" game as the pendulum kept swinging from one side to the other. But he was happy to see Spurs escape with a win.
"It was a crazy game. Usually I don't like these types of games. Crazy game means anything can happen", Conte after Tottenham's victory.
"But at the same time I think we should win and we won. We were winning 3-0 and then we conceded two goals that we can avoid", the Italian added.
While Conte knows that Spurs somehow managed to win against Vitesse, it won't be easy against Everton over the weekend, when his side face them in a Premier League clash.
The Italian manager emphasises "improvement" and says that his team will "need to work a lot" to beat the top English sides in the Premier League.
The Italian manager emphasises "improvement" and says that his team will "need to work a lot" to beat the top English sides in the Premier League.
"I think they need to work a lot, the problem is we need to find the time to work", the 52-year-old insisted.
However, Conte's immediate worry is the lack of preparation time ahead of the Everton match as he claims that his top XI players exhausted themselves in the match against the Dutch side.
"It's not easy because we had to prepare for this game and then we have only one day [to prepare for Everton]", Conte continued.
"Tomorrow [Friday] is impossible to work with the players that worked tonight. They wasted a lot of energy. They have to rest".
Despite the fatigue of his main players, Conte is focused on working with the footballers who didn't feature in the Europa League game as according to him, these players will have to make changes to a lot of aspects of their play.
Despite the fatigue of his main players, Conte is focused on working with the footballers who didn't feature in the Europa League game as according to him, these players will have to make changes to a lot of aspects of their play.
"We will work with the players that didn't play, though. We needed to have a bit of patience. We need to work on many aspects".
"Tactically and physically. The players will understand soon what I want. I am not afraid of the work. I know you can only achieve greatness with work", Conte concluded.