Cristian Stellini exclusive: Tottenham assistant says Antonio Conte’s absence means players are taking more responsibility | Football News

When Tottenham welcome West Ham to north London on Sunday evening, Cristian Stellini will once again be the main man in the dugout.

Earlier this week, it was announced that Spurs head coach Antonio Conte will remain in Italy – following a 1-0 defeat to AC Milan in the Champions League – following a post-operative check-up he underwent following gall bladder surgery.

So, as a result, the assistant and his compatriot will be responsible for the third time this season.

The first was a 2-1 Champions League win over Marseille in November, when Conte was forced to serve a touchline ban, the second was a 1-0 win over Manchester City in the Premier League on 5 February.

Two wins from two does not bode well for a man whose experience leading a team is the equivalent of five months in charge of Serie C outfit Alessandria in 2017.

But any suggestion that he enjoyed the experience was quickly refuted. This is a case of holding the fort, nothing more.

“I don’t like this feeling; I feel responsible,” he said in an exclusive interview with Sky Sports at the Tottenham Hotspur Way training complex.

“I feel the pressure. This is the moment I have to grow as a coach and when you have to take important decisions, you have to feel responsible.

“It’s not about me, it’s about the club, the fans, the players, our jobs, our lives. It’s more important than my feelings.”

It is certainly a welcome bonus that he has a direct line to Conte, who remains subject to the team’s problems as he needs time to recover at his family home, albeit in the heart of Europe.

The pair – who previously worked together at Juventus and Inter Milan – are in contact “many times a day”, but while Stellini admits Conte needs to take time to fully recover, they are struggling to stay away from their daily routine. team running day.

He continued: “Antonio is recovering and it’s a bit sad that he can’t be here. But he’s fine, physically. We know he needs to recover from the operation and now he needs time.

“We didn’t know it hurt [he felt during the AC Milan game] coming from the stress or the little time he spent to recover because he remains responsible and lives football like Antonio usually with passion and maybe this passion causes pain. He knew he was coming back too soon.

“He is available. We talk about the team and training every day and some decisions will be made together.

“But this time is only good for recovery because when Antonio is away from his job, he is not happy. He is more happy here, working with us and the team. Maybe it is a different kind of stress, but he needs to relax. . I don’t know when he will be back, but.”

So how have the players responded to Stellini stepping up on so many occasions?

“He’s focused,” Stellini said. “In this aspect, I feel good and comfortable because when I look at the players, I feel responsible because Antonio is not here.

“He also takes care of me because my relationship with him is special, as every assistant manager needs. I can feel that the players want to do the same because they enjoy working together.

“Weird [to step up] because it’s a different job. It’s really strange to be responsible for one game [vs Marseille], but I have a trainer with me. Now it’s different because the coach is not here, but I feel Antonio’s presence with me.

“I want to say clearly, I am not alone. We are responsible together, we manage everything together and all the staff.”

Spurs go into Sunday’s game on the back of back-to-back defeats against Leicester and AC Milan and remain fifth in the Premier League table, despite having played two games more than Brighton, who are four points behind in sixth.

Stellini admitted he saw an improvement in Milan’s game, but is looking for the players to perform against the Hammers, who have drawn against Newcastle and Chelsea in their last two league games.

“We are sad because after Man City won, we thought we could be better, stronger,” he said.

“My feeling is that the Leicester game comes exactly three days before the AC Milan game and it can affect the team. We have to accept it.

“AC Milan’s performance was better than Leicester. It was a game where we scored goals in situations we could control and my hope is to play a good game on Sunday against West Ham because we need it and deserve it. play the game and win.”

“We have to be careful because West Ham have a certain skill, they are strong. In this league, not many clubs have this skill. They have strength, height, strong on the counterattack, strong in set pieces. -good, so they will be difficult to play toward.

“We know it’s a derby in our stadium in front of our fans and we want to play a good game and show from the start that we are a team.”

Against Milan, the north Londoners started with Oliver Skipp, 22, and Pape Matar Sarr, 20, in midfield, due to Rodrigo Bentancur’s season-ending ACL injury and suspension for Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.

With a smile, Stellini spoke highly of the young pair and explained the importance of the part they will play during the club’s injury crisis, Hugo Lloris, Ryan Sessegnon and Yves Bissouma all. sidelined for a full time, too.

“Rodrigo was an important player last season because we reached the goal with Hojbjerg and Bentancur together for a long time. We had to accept losing Bentancur for a long time.

“It is dangerous, but also we are happy at the moment with the performance of Skipp and Sarr. We have two young players ready. We have ball many times that we believe in all the young players and also Pape and Skippy now reality.

“Not just a young player, he can play and should play in the future. He is amazing [against Milan]. They are completely focused on the game and they never leave the game. He strikes a good balance for us defensively, offensively and in transition; he stopped AC Milan’s transition many times.”

Whether the partnership continues in the short term, however, the fact that Spurs have a clear week ahead of facing Chelsea next week could only prove beneficial to their growth.

And with Conte seemingly not looking forward to a return to Hotspur Way in the near future, the time will certainly be valuable for Stellini and his players to minimize distractions.

“Having a full week to prepare for the game is important, because you have little time and in some aspects you cannot work when you have a difficult schedule where we play every three days. We will use this week to not only rest a day. , but also can work in several aspects to play many games.”

Spurs are in good hands in Conte’s absence – and, all healthy, they could find themselves in a better place when he returns.

Watch Tottenham vs West Ham on Sky Sports Premier League on Super Sunday from 4pm; kick-off 4.30pm