LONDON, Jan 20 (Reuters) – Tottenham Hotspur supervisor Antonio Conte stated his group’s defensive report in current weeks was just like that of a group struggling for relegation and urged gamers to point out “will and can” forward of Monday’s Premier League recreation in Fulham.

The Spurs took a two-goal halftime lead in a 4-2 league loss to Manchester Metropolis on Thursday.

They’re fifth within the league with 33 factors after 20 video games, enjoying another recreation than their nearest rivals to attain outdoors the highest 4 and have already conceded 31 league objectives this season, simply 9 wanting the 2021-22 season.

“For conceding 21 objectives within the final 10 video games, it is a group that normally fights within the relegation zone,” Conte advised reporters on Friday.

“I believe we should always develop the spirit, the cooperation, the desire, the need, the sense of struggling, as a result of perhaps we forgot to endure… You must present the desire and the desire to defend the result, (present) and never do it.” concede a purpose

“I do not bear in mind what number of objectives we did not concede with (goalkeeper) Hugo (Lloris) final season however… we conceded no less than two objectives in each recreation this season however that is our center degree, it is our common, it is like a group struggling. It is within the relegation zone.”

Regardless of Tottenham’s defensive woes in back-to-back league losses in opposition to Metropolis and Arsenal, Conte added that he can nonetheless see clear indicators of progress in different areas.

“I believe we’re making progress in some methods,” he stated. “In different respects, I believe we have to return and be a bit of extra strong, a bit of extra centered, a bit of extra disagreeable, as we have been final season.

“We have improved in some ways as a result of we’re scoring a whole lot of objectives this season, creating a whole lot of probabilities, our strain group was significantly better than final season…

The Spurs have scored 39 league objectives to this point this time period, in comparison with 69 in final season’s total marketing campaign.

“Should you begin to see gamers begin to play with their personalities, beginning the sport with the desire and need to have possession of the ball, create probabilities, be robust, press and win doubles, you see progress. In that case you possibly can see progress for the coach,” Conte added.

Reported by Aadi Nair from Nashik, India; Edited by Ken Ferris

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