Tottenham Hotspur is set to sack manager Antonio Conte following his criticism of the team after they surrendered a 3-1 lead to Southampton.
“The problem is we have shown we are not a team. We are 11 players,” raged Conte after the full-time whistle. “I see selfish players. I see players that don’t want to help each other, don’t play with heart. It is the same every season, no matter who the manager is. They’re used to it here.
“Don’t play for something important. They don’t want to play under pressure. They don’t want to play under stress. Tottenham’s story is this. Twenty 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.”
It’s understood Conte’s sensational rant has cost him his job with Daniel Levy looking at alternative candidates for first team manager. Daily Star Sport examine who could be the leading contenders…
Potential candidates to replace him include former Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino, Ryan Mason, Thomas Tuchel, Paulo Fonseca, and Brendan Rodgers. Pochettino led Spurs to the Champions League final in 2019 and has been out of work since July 2021. Mason had a short stint as interim manager earlier in 2021, while Tuchel led Chelsea to Champions League glory before being dismissed in 2022.
Fonseca was previously set to be appointed Spurs manager before Nuno Espirito Santo was chosen, and Rodgers has led Leicester City to the FA Cup triumph and European football.