Mental instability causes Tottenham’s defeat – Conte

Oviri Kelvin

The Tottenham manager, Antonio Conte states that the mental instability of the players resulted in the late defeat to Southampton.

Southampton yesterday came from a goal down to score two goals in succession to upturn Tottenham’s 2-1 lead to a 2-3 win close to the end of the match.

Goals from James Ward-Prowse’s crosses to Mohamed Elyounoussi and Che Adams were able to secure a win for the Saints who are 10th on the Premier League table with 28 points.

Having conceded two goals to Tottenham, including an own goal by Jan Bednarek, Southampton responded adequately with 23 shots and missed several chances before levelling the scoreline late in the game.

With the result of the game, Tottenham’s hope of getting into top-four position has been made slimmer while they also lost an opportunity to be one point on top of Arsenal.

Antonio Conte applauded the attitude of the players but stated that the team made too many mistakes in possessing the ball and this affected their composure later in the game.

He added that the team has improved in every respect after defeating Leicester previously but noted that they are easily swayed by emotions.

Conte said, “For sure, we have to be disappointed,” he said. “They were good but I think we made many, many mistakes, especially with the ball, and I think this type of situation creates a bit of mental instability in my team.

“In the second half, then, we started to play, we started to press in the right way and then we created chances to score.

“We also did that in the first half because every time we played the ball in the right way, we created a situation to go and score, but I repeat, we made many mistakes in the first half – important mistakes.

“In the second half, we did well, scored, but then we had to be better to defend.

“I have seen the two goals we conceded with the defensive line having to stay there. We need to be more accurate but I know very well that this season we are going to struggle to get three points. I said this before and I continue to repeat it.

“For sure, I think we are now improving in many aspects but we are still too emotional.

“Against Leicester, we won 3-2 and we were losing 2-1. Today, we were winning 2-1 and we lost 3-2.

“I think on this aspect, we have to improve because if we want to grow as a team and try to be competitive, the first thing we have to improve is to be stable, not up and down, up and down.

“In a team, it’s also important to have players with experience, to manage the situation during the game.

“But I repeat it was a pity because my players gave 120 percent and the effort was maximum. I cannot say that I didn’t see the right attitude, or that I didn’t see the right commitment, because I saw the maximum.

“We have to try to avoid defeats like this. I think today we could have avoided this defeat. Especially when you go 2-1 and there are 15 minutes or 20 minutes to play, we have to try to manage the situation in a better way. We have to take experience from this game and try to improve.

“We have to struggle and give 120 percent, and I repeat the effort today was the maximum. I can’t tell you that my players’ effort was not good, the commitment was not good – no.

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“I have to say thanks to my players because the commitments were top. But then you know you have to improve in many, many aspects – and we have a long, long road in front of us,” he added.

Meanwhile, this is the best performance put up by the Saints since he took charge of the club, according to the Southampton boss Palph Hasenhuttl.

The win against Tottenham means a lot to Hasentuttl who marked his 500th game in charge of Southampton with a superb performance from the team.

Hasentuttl said, “Very proud today, we saw a fantastic game, coming back twice means a lot to the players, to me and shows how we have developed our game,” he said.

“When you score a goal like the second one with 23 passes before, it was a fantastic performance today.

“This is a nice thing in football, this is why we love the game, we see ups and downs. Unbelievable match.

“The way we played in the first half was one of the best I have seen from this team. We moved them around, had very good chances, and should have made three or four goals in the first half.

“We have solutions and the tools to score, even against well-organised teams. This is another step forward, it is fantastic to watch.

“I heard it was my 500th game as a manager and I will never forget this. It was a nice moment,” he concluded.

Tottenham will hope to revive their pursuit for a top-four position when they take on Wolves at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday 13, 2022.