Conte to Ndombele: Play your way back into fans’ heart
Antonio Conte suggested Tanguy Ndombele needs to improve on the pitch to get Tottenham fans back on side after the midfielder was loudly booed during the FA Cup third-round win over Morecambe.
Ndombele has struggled to make an impact since joining Spurs in a £55m deal in the summer of 2019.
He was handed a starting spot against League One strugglers Morecambe but again failed to impress and was part of a triple change made by Spurs boss Conte on the hour mark with his side trailing 1-0.
Ndombele incurred the wrath of the crowd by showing no urgency to get off the pitch, slowly walking off from the other side and then heading straight down the tunnel as he was being booed.
Asked about the crowd reaction to Ndombele after Spurs eventually won 3-1, Conte said: “I was so focused on the game because we were losing 1-0. This type of situation, they are in football.
“You have to be good to try to change your opinion. If someone is disappointed with you. It’s normal.
“I was a player and it happened sometimes to me that someone was unhappy with my performance. This is our life. I repeat, it’s OK. We have to continue to work and try to be better next time.
“We have to know very well that if we perform well, the fans are happy. If you don’t perform well, the fans are not happy. This is football. If we think the fans have to be happy any time, if you win or lose, I think that’s not right.”Me, for sure, when I don’t win, I’m not happy, I am upset and I think that is OK.”
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Conte was also asked if he was disappointed in Ndombele’s slow trudge off the pitch, but chose instead to speak about his reasoning for the substitution.
He said: “I think during the game, you have to try the best solution to find something, especially if I’m seeing we’re losing 1-0 and then you have to try to change something, especially when you have on the bench players at the top level.
“In this case, I decided to give a bit of rest to Harry (Kane) and also Lucas (Moura). At one point, when I’ve seen the situation we should change the situation, for sure.