Antonio previews Southampton: “It’s important in every game to get points”
Fri 17 March 2023, 15:23|
Tottenham Hotspur
Antonio Conte has underlined the importance of focus as we bid to pick up three more points at Southampton on Saturday (3pm UK).
We head to St Mary’s looking to bolster our position in the top four – with Manchester United in FA Cup action this weekend, we could move up to third with a victory – while the hosts, now on their third manager of the season in Ruben Selles, will be determined to win in order to move off the bottom of the table.
Speaking exclusively to SPURSPLAY, the Head Coach said: “Like always, it will be a difficult game because you know, in the Premier League, there is not an easy game and we are going to face a team that is fighting for a good position in the table. At the same time I think that we have to think to ourselves, to try to get points. It will be very important to play a good game and to give continuity after the Nottingham Forest win.
“Now we are going to play the last part of the season. For this reason I think it will be very, very important in every game to try to get points. We have to pay attention because in every game, you can drop points and in the last 11 games, we need to try to do our best. We are working very hard, we want to try to give satisfaction to our fans and make them proud.”
With a week between games for much of the remainder of the campaign when we return after the international break, Antonio explained how the squad can make optimum use of the time at our disposal.
“For sure, when you have this type of situation, you have more time to work with your team on many aspects,” he said. “It’s time to work on the tactical aspects, on the physical aspects and also to speak with some players.”
Speaking further about the challenges we might face against the Saints in his pre-match press conference, Antonio added: “Last season we struggled against Southampton, we lost at home and drew 1-1 away. It’s always a difficult game for us but the first game of this season (4-1 win), we played well. We went 1-0 down but came back to score four goals. Now they have changed two managers and they are trying to do everything to avoid relegation. But I watched their games against Brentford, Manchester United and Chelsea, and I have seen a team that is alive and not a team who are sleepwalking to relegation.”
