Antonio previews Southampton: "We need the same will, the same desire"
Wed 09 February 2022, 12:00|
Tottenham Hotspur
Antonio Conte has reiterated the importance of our home form for the rest of the season.
We take on Southampton in the Premier League at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this evening (Wednesday, 7.45pm) in the second of a trilogy of home games this week, following Saturday’s fine FA Cup win over Brighton and with Wolves to follow on Sunday (2pm).
Our form in N17 has been impressive since Antonio’s arrival in November - eight wins in 10 matches in all competitions, with a draw against Liverpool and the only loss in the Carabao Cup semi-final, second leg to Chelsea.
Saturday’s fourth-round win against Brighton was impressive and, after a winter break, really felt like the start of the second half of the season with new arrivals Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski making debuts off the bench and the return from injury of Cristian Romero and Heung-Min Son, not forgetting our league position with up to four games in hand...
Antonio spoke after the game about the ‘outstanding noise’ in the stadium and he’s looking for a repeat performance on and off the pitch this evening.
“It is important we have continuity in our results,” he said. “We play Southampton and then Wolverhampton on Sunday and when we play at home, our stadium has to become our fortress. Also, our fans are ready to make a lot of noise and back us from the start until the end, and we have to exploit this situation.”
Southampton arrive in N17 with just one defeat in eight, having halted Manchester City’s 12-match winning run in the Premier League via a 1-1 draw before progressing in the FA Cup with a 2-1 win against Coventry City on Saturday.
“We are talking about a really good team,” added Antonio. “We played them a month ago (28 December), we drew (1-1) after a tough game. For sure, we have to pay great attention and we have to put on the pitch the same desire, the same will to get three points. We are in a good moment, and we want to play a good game and try to get three points.”
