Antonio previews ‘important game’ against West Ham
Sat 19 March 2022, 11:00|
Tottenham Hotspur
Serenaded by our fans at the Amex, barely an hour had passed after Wednesday night’s win at Brighton and Antonio Conte was indicating the key role our supporters will play against West Ham.
“On Sunday, we have an important game and, in our stadium, I’d like to feel our crowd, and for our fans to push us from the start until the end, because the three points against West Ham are vital,” he said. “I want to call our fans to do this. I’m sure it will happen. They are brilliant.”
It was the same message when he spoke to us after training on Friday. “The fans are very important to create a fantastic atmosphere around this game, and to push us from the start until the end,” he said. “They will play an important role in this game.”
There’s never a dull moment in this fixture - 134 goals and 10 red cards in 51 meetings in the Premier League - and we now meet at a crucial stage of the season. We have 10 games remaining, West Ham nine, and we’re level on points in six and seventh, two points adrift of Manchester United in fifth and a further point behind Arsenal in fourth, ahead of the weekend’s matches.
Antonio has seen so many of these matches in a playing and managerial career spanning 36 years - so what makes the difference on the day?
“The difference has to be the desire, the will to get three points,” he said. “We have to know very well that the game won’t be easy. During the game we have to be good, to manage different situations and try to get three points.
“For sure, it’s an important game for us, also for them, because we have the same target. We are in a good moment of form and we’re improving a lot. We have to be confident going into the game on Sunday. We have this game and then the international break. It’s very important to finish in the right way with a good win and a good performance, to show we’re improving.”
West Ham came back to turn around a 1-0 deficit from the first leg, beat Sevilla 2-0 and progress to the quarter-finals of the Europa League on Thursday night.
“West Ham is a team that is improving a lot,” added Antonio. “They have a very good manager, he’s doing great work, last season to take a place in the Europa League, now they have beaten Sevilla, don’t forget they are second in Spain. That means we’re talking about a strong team.
“We have the same points in the table. This will be a tough game for both teams, for sure, we will do our best and try to get three points because with only 10 games to go, every game is vital for us to get three points and to stay close to the top positions.”
