Antonio previews Burnley: "Football is extraordinary, it's different game by game"
Tue 22 February 2022, 18:35|
Tottenham Hotspur
Even in the afterglow of our wonderful performance and victory against Manchester City on Saturday, Antonio Conte’s thoughts had turned to Burnley.
“It’s a good step for us but, as we know well, in three days we have to play Burnley, and they are in a good moment,” he ended the reply to his first question pitchside at the Etihad. “I want to see the same spirit, the same desire, the same will to fight. We have to continue in this way and enjoy this good result but, I repeat, from tomorrow we have to think about Burnley.”
Now we’re just under 24 hours away from kick-off at Turf Moor (7.30pm), and Antonio has reiterated the message. “When you win against Manchester City away in the way we won, sure, it has to give you a lot of confidence,” he told us on Tuesday. “Then, you have to start to think about the next game and, against Burnley, a really tough game.
“They are in a fantastic moment of form. Their last result was very good, a 3-0 win at Brighton who, for me, are a very good team. They drew against Arsenal away, drew at home against United, then lost 1-0 at Liverpool, maybe they deserved more.
“So, we have to pay great attention. At the same time, if we want to have the ambition to stay very close in the table, we have to try to play a good game and try to get three points.”
It will, of course, be a different type of game, and a different game plan required against Sean Dyche’s men. “The coach has to be good, to have different plans, every game is different,” said Antonio.
“Against City, we know very well that City like to have possession of the ball and you have to be prepared to be good defensively and, at the same time, when you have the ball, to hurt them. We prepared for this type of game, and it worked.
“Now, it’s another game, another plan. You know that Burnley like to play a longer ball, lots of crosses, lots of duels. We have to be prepared to fight for the second ball and defensively, we have to be strong, to pay attention for crosses, to mark well.
“At the same time, when we have the ball, we have to hurt them. Football is extraordinary, because it’s going to be different, game by game. You have to be good to prepare for the game and to understand the strengths of your opponent, the weaknesses of your opponent and then try to build a good game.”
