Antonio’s verdict on Fulham: “This has to be a starting point”
Tue 24 January 2023, 00:30|Tottenham Hotspur
Antonio Conte spoke about the need for the team to improve defensively after last week’s loss at City, and reiterated the point pre-match - and the players delivered with a resolute display in a 1-0 win at Craven Cottage on Monday evening.
Harry Kane’s superb goal to equal Jimmy Greaves’ Club record 266 in added time of the first half proved enough for maximum points, moving us back to within three points of Newcastle and United as we sit fifth in the Premier League.
It was a goal to grace any game, any era. Receiving the ball from Heung-Min Son on the edge of the box, back to goal, Harry spun away from Tim Ream before whipping a curler into the bottom corner. One more goal, and he’ll beat a record many believed would stand for all-time...
Antonio described the goal as ‘amazing’, but underlined the importance of the clean sheet when he spoke to SPURSPLAY at Craven Cottage.
He told us: “It was important to finish the game with a clean sheet, for Hugo, for the whole team. As I said after the last game, it was, in my opinion, incredible to concede 21 goals in our last 10 games, and this was not usual for my team, not usual for Tottenham, because if you continue to be one of the best attacks in the Premier League but you concede so many goals, for sure, you have to change something.
“Today, I saw the characteristics that we saw a lot last season during games, we showed to be solid, showed the desire to defend the result, the three points. I don’t think we suffered a lot, but I think we were ready to suffer. We were a team with the ball, without the ball, and the players helped each other.
“Now, it has to be a starting point. There are 17 games to go (in the Premier League) and we have to try to do our best. Then, at the end, we’ll see our position in the table.
“Then, there is an important game on Saturday in the FA Cup, another trophy. We have to be competitive, we have to try to go to the next round. Then, the Champions League. We have an important second part of the season. I think today has to be a starting point for us, because, sometimes, the defeats help to open the eyes of your players. I have intelligent players and, for this reason, I know they understand.”