Antonio Conte reported a clean bill of health ahead of a game he is only interested in trying to take three points from.
We would set a new English top-flight record for consecutive wins in a single season with victory at White Hart Lane tomorrow night, but that doesn’t concern Conte, as he told the press at Cobham when asked if he and the players were thinking about the potential feat.
‘No, me, the players, we want to win to take three points,’ he replied. ‘The record, I repeat, is a great achievement above all because after these 13 wins in a row we took 39 points. The other situations are
not important for us. ‘This type of game gives you great motivation.
Now every team wants to stop our run, not only Tottenham. ‘If you see the table, we have only five points more than second-placed Liverpool, and seven points more than Manchester City, and, if Arsenal beat Bournemouth today, we are only six points from them. ‘The league is very open, and we are only in the first game of the second part of the season,’ continued Conte.
‘Tomorrow we know we will have a really tough game against Tottenham. ‘If after the game we have eight points more than the second team we will be pleased, but this league is very tough and you can lose points any game.’ Conte said there were no fresh injuries in the wake of the two recent home wins.
Pedro missed the second because of suspension and in his place Willian netted an excellent brace. It’s the kind of selection dilemma the boss relishes. ‘I like to have my players in good form and then make the best choice for the game,’ he explained.
‘I prefer to have this problem. For sure now we have Pedro , Willian , Hazard and Costa in good form and good shape. ‘I have to decide the starting XI, but I think you win the game in 95 minutes, and it’s important to have all my players available, and above all in good form. ’Conte said there was no news about John Mikel Obi’s future at the moment and reiterated any January incomings would be dependent on the right player being available at the right price.
The boss also revealed he has been to White Hart Lane once before, when he was in charge of the Italy national team and Fiorentina played Tottenham in a Europa League match. He has had a more recent opportunity to take in tomorrow’s opponents in the flesh, when Tottenham visited the Bridge at the end of November.
‘I watched it again. The first half they played very well, they put a lot of pressure on and they scored. We scored with Pedro at the end of the first half. Then in the second half we deserved to win, we played very well. ‘But also Tottenham are showing great form. They are better than last season, they have a good manager who is working very well, and this team is improving every year. It’s right to compliment [Mauricio] Pochettino.’
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Conte: Motivated for more