Antonio Conte sends a warning to Tottenham amid sacking concerns

Antonio Conte has warned Tottenham that clubs tend to regret letting him go.

With Spurs 14 points behind leaders Arsenal, the manager is coming under increasing scrutiny with some questioning whether his heart remains in north London.

After a traumatic few months, which saw the deaths of three of his closest friends, the Italian admitted that he is reflecting on his priorities and his future as a manager.

Antonio Conte urged on Wednesday that Tottenham would regret sacking him from Spurs job

But, ahead of tonight’s trip to Manchester City, he responded to any concerns about his commitment to Tottenham.

“I don’t read this and I don’t listen to this, but people who know me wouldn’t say I’m a bad coach,” Conte said.

None of the clubs I have worked for have been unhappy with my commitment and what I have given them.

“Normally when I leave, the club regrets a lot because they saw my way of working and the commitment I put in. In that aspect I am very happy with the way I am.”

Tottenham suffered a 2-0 defeat against Arsenal in the North London derby on Sunday night.

Conte added: ‘I give everything for the club. Not only for Tottenham, for Inter, for Juventus, for all the clubs where I was a manager. It is normal that when I finish the day I am tired because I work a lot for the club. And that’s why they want me to stay a long time.

Conte’s contract runs until the end of the season, although Tottenham have the option to extend it for another year.

Conte insisted he wasn’t seen as a bad manager among ‘people who knew him’ (seen above with managing director Fabio Paratici)

It has been a difficult few months for the Italian, with the death of fitness trainer Gian Piero Ventrone in October, Sinisa Mihajlovic in December and Gianluca Vialli this month. All three were dear friends, none over the age of 61.

Conte, 53, spoke about how it has affected him. “This is a difficult season from a personal standpoint,” he said. ‘When this situation happens, it leads you to have important reflections.

‘Many times we give great importance to our work and we forget about the family, we forget that we need to have more time for ourselves. Surely this season is making me have an important reflection on my future.

‘When work is the most important thing to you, maybe we forget to stay with family and friends, we forget to spend time with friends. This is our passion and because of that we lose a lot of things.

Spurs travel to the Etihad Stadium to face defending champions Manchester City on Thursday.

“When this happens, you start to think that maybe it’s also good to spend more time with your family and friends and also with yourself. Work is not everything in life.

The fact that Conte’s family remains in Italy only makes life more difficult.

“I don’t want to affect my family’s life,” he said. ‘Sometimes it’s important to make decisions to sacrifice and stay.

‘But I have a family that tries to support me and comes here whenever they can. But the situation becomes more difficult when things happen, like with Gianluca, Gian Piero and Sinisa.’