Italy boss Conte visits

We were delighted to welcome Antonio Conte, manager of the Italian national team, to our Training Centre on Monday.

The former midfielder, who won a host of top honours including five Serie A titles, the UEFA Cup and the Champions League during a glittering 13-year spell at Juventus, stopped by at Hotspur Way as part of a series of visits he is making to Premier League clubs this week.

Mr Conte chatted at length to our Head Coach Mauricio Pochettino and his staff – commenting on how impressed he was with the training facilities our players have at their disposal.

“Impressed is exactly the right word!” said Mr Conte, who took over as Italy manager in August, 2014. “It looks like a very good place to work and for Tottenham Hotspur to develop their potential.

“The reason for my visit is to study and to look at some of the situations at clubs in England – especially in London. I am meeting with some managers who I think are doing well and to discover the reasons why they are doing well.”

As we prepare to face one of the top clubs in Italy in the shape of Fiorentina in the Europa League later this week, Mr Conte highlighted how hard work is the key to success in European competition.

“The only message I can give to the players is that they have to work every single day,” added the former Bari and Juve manager, who hopes to attend our matches against Fiorentina and West Ham this week. “Obviously it’s a great sensation to be at the top of Europe and I think it’s going to be a very interesting game on Thursday.

“It’s a match between two clubs who are doing very well at the moment and playing some interesting football, so it’s going to be a good game.”