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Former Tottenham star Matt Doherty defended Antonio Conte’s tirade after the weekend’s stalemate with Southampton.
Doherty’s permanent transfer to Atletico Madrid in January astounded a number of Tottenham employees after the player ended up departing to La Liga on a free transfer.
Doherty’s Praise for Conte at Spurs
“I hope he stays for a long time at Tottenham. (He’s an) unbelievable coach and manager, he won’t say anything in the press that he won’t say to his players,” Doherty said.
“He’s completely honest with his players and he has the passion for the whole club,” the Atleti fullback stated.
“So for me I hope Tottenham stick by him and hold on to him for as long as possible as he’s one of the best managers of all time.”
As of recent, Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy has been pushed to name Vincent Kompany as Antonio Conte’s successor as head coach at the North London club.
It comes as the former Manchester City defender excels with the Clarets and Spurs face a monumental decision over their future plans.
Former Chelsea striker Tony Cascarino has urged Levy to approach Kompany for the position as rumors of summer replacements for the London club continue to circulate with the squad in need of a revamp.
Spurs Aware of Placing in the Champions League Places
Notwithstanding the current uncertainty surrounding Antonio Conte’s future at Tottenham, the Lilywhites are still in an excellent position to qualify for the Champions League next season.
The problem for Tottenham, though, is that their competitors have games in hand over them in the remaining 10 matches of the season.
Manchester United, Newcastle United, and Liverpool all have two games in hand over Spurs, while Brighton & Hove Albion, who are seven points behind Conte’s squad, have played three fewer games than Spurs.
While Tottenham can only focus on themselves and hope that their final 10 matches will be enough to secure a place in the top four, there is no assurance that their competitors will capitalize on their games in hand and leave Spurs in the dust.
If Erik ten Hag’s Red Devils advance all the way in the FA Cup and Europa League, they will have 19 games on the schedule, which could result in a couple of slip-ups in the league due to their tight and crowded schedule.
In recent months, Newcastle and Liverpool’s form has been exceedingly inconsistent, and it is unlikely that they will string together enough victories to blast Spurs out of the water.
Even if Tottenham were to finish fourth in the final Premier League standings, there remains a scenario in which they would not qualify for Champions League play in 2023/24.
According to the UEFA regulations, only five English clubs are permitted to compete in Europe’s main league at any given moment.
Since Arsenal and Manchester City appear guaranteed to play in the Champions League next season due to their dominance at the top of the Premier League, the final two spots are wide open. If Manchester United falls out of the top four and English clubs win both the Champions League and Europa League, the nightmare scenario in which Spurs finish fourth and lose out on next season’s competition might materialize.
If Man United fail to qualify for the Champions League via the top four but win the Europa League in Budapest at the end of May, they will clinch a spot in next season’s Champions League, giving England a total of five spots in the competition.
If Spurs finish fourth, the side would only be in jeopardy if Chelsea win the Champions League for the second time in three years.
In such a situation, the fourth-place team would be relegated to the Europa League instead of the Champions League.
However, it appears exceedingly unlikely that Chelsea will reach the final in Istanbul, as they must first overcome Real Madrid in the quarterfinals and then either Manchester City or Bayern Munich in the semis.
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