ANGRY Antonio Conte hit back at the Spurs fans who booed his team off at half-time during their 2-1 home defeat by Liverpool.
And the emotional Italian hinted that he could even walk away when his contract expires at the end of the season if they don’t get behind his players.
He said: “I think we have to show great respect in every moment for our fans who pay for the tickets.
“But if you ask me if I was disappointed today, I have to say yes because it is always important to be honest.
“After one year we have made a lot of improvements but if anyone thinks we are ready to win trophies I have to tell you that it will be really difficult.
“We are a long way from the teams with stronger squads who are used to winning.
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“So everyone needs to understand the need for time and patience. Otherwise we can lose the passion and enthusiasm which is my fuel.
“If I have that then it’s OK. Otherwise we will continue this season and then we will see what happens at the end.”
It is not the first time that Conte has threatened to quit Spurs but now he is starting to feel the heat after a defeat which leaves his team eight points behind leaders Arsenal having played a game more.
Two first-half goals from Mo Salah were enough to secure Liverpool’s first away League win of the season before Harry Kane reduced the arrears late on.
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Kane said: “We’ve made too many mistakes this season against the bigger teams and been punished and that was the case again today.
“We’ve got to be disappointed because we lost the game and we weren’t good enough.
“Being behind at half-time has happened too often this season and we’re having to chase too many games in the second half.
“We’ve been great at doing that but if you really want to be fighting at the top of the league you have to find those big moments and come out on top in this sort of game, and we haven’t done that.
“It’s been the story of our season so far. We fought until the end but we need to be better at controlling games.”
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp was delighted with Salah’s contribution as the Egyptian international took his season’s goal tally to 14.
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He said: “When you look back in five or six years we will all remember Mo as one of the best strikers you ever saw because his numbers will be absolutely insane.
“Even in a slow start to the season which can happen, Mo was still involved in more chances than anyone in Europe.
“Today he scored two world-class goals and played like a real team player. It was a top performance and an outstanding attitude.
“It wasn’t in my plan to celebrate like that at the end but I got carried away because our supporters have had to travel a lot in the Premier League and this was the first three points, so it was absolutely big for us.
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“Winning here at Tottenham is incredibly difficult. We had to show an attitude and commitment to defending and we also had to show that when we concede a goal we are not punished too hard.
“Today everyone was 100 percent committed and we need to show that resilience every time we play.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
