Antonio Conte has been told he is playing with fire and is at risk of bringing an early end to his Tottenham tenure if he continues to persist with a particular selection call.
The Italian is now 14 months into the job at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and was initially well received. Indeed, he steered the club to a top-four finish last season and back into the Champions League at the expense of closest rivals Arsenal. However, this season has seen some serious questions posed over his future with Tottenham appearing to go backwards.
To that end, the club has already lost four times in 10 home Premier League matches to date. And the manner in which table-topping Arsenal eased to their derby win at Spurs on Sunday has won him few friends at N17.
Now, the pressure on Conte appears to be building. The Italian has regularly dropped hints at departing Spurs at various intervals during his time in charge. As such, Conte admitted as recently as January 4 that he may ‘have to go’ after another disappointing defeat.
Facts of the matter are is that Conte’s deal at Tottenham is due to expire at the season’s end. Spurs chairman Daniel Levy has previously shown willing to extend that deal beyond that. However, their recent downturn in results – together with criticism of Tottenham’s style of play – suggests the club may yet turn elsewhere.
Those claims have come into even sharper focus since that defeat to Arsenal. And as a result, a report on Monday suggested Levy was considering four potential replacements should they part company.
As such, the next weeks and months will likely go a long to determining Conte and Tottenham’s future.
Conte warned awful tactic could see Tottenham axe fall
His immediate aim will be to close the gap on Manchester United in fourth place. They currently boast a five-point advantage and it is hard to see Erik ten Hag’s side letting that slip given their current form.
However, one pundit is convinced that Conte may not even see out the season in the Tottenham dug-out.
And while results have been disappointing, Gabriel Agbonlahor reckons the 3-4-3 – or variation of it – does Conte few favours. And, speaking to Football Insider, he reckons Levy will have no choice but to act if he persists with his preferrred three-man central defensive formation.
“I do like Conte, but I don’t like his formation,” Agbonlahor stated.
“I’ve never liked three at the back. It’s too defensive, it’s negative – and sometimes the three defenders can be marking no-one.
“The formation he wants to play is not going to get Spurs to the next level, and I can see it costing his job.
“All the top teams at the moment are playing four at the back – Arsenal, Man City, Newcastle, Man United.
“It’s not complicated. If Conte doesn’t change, I can’t see Spurs going anywhere.
“It’s so boring. Spurs get the ball back and they’ve got nowhere to go, they’re outnumbered.”
Tottenham’s prospects of closing the gap on the top four face a sterm test of their credentials on Thursday night. They travel to take on a Manchester City side, who need the points themselves to close the gap on Arsenal.
Following that, Spurs host high-flying Fulham in another televised game on Monday. It’s Preston in the FA Cup the following weekend before the return Premier League fixture with Man City. The Italian needs a series of improvements to keep the wolves from the door.