‘Didn’t deserve to play’ – Conte reveals change he has seen in one Spurs star
Antonio Conte has revealed that he has seen a change in Matt Doherty over recent months, with the right-wing-back now showing positive attitude and behaviour. When Conte first arrived at Tottenham and switched to a wing-back system, many would have been keeping one eye on Doherty seeing as he thrived at right-wing-back for Wolves. However, […]
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Antonio Conte has revealed that he has seen a change in Matt Doherty over recent months, with the right-wing-back now showing positive attitude and behaviour.
When Conte first arrived at Tottenham and switched to a wing-back system, many would have been keeping one eye on Doherty seeing as he thrived at right-wing-back for Wolves.
However, the Italian head coach stuck with Emerson Royal, despite the Brazilian’s struggles to adapt to the more advanced position.
Before the end of February, Doherty had only played a full 90 minutes once in the Premier League, but he has now started the last six matches. In this time, the Irishman has managed an impressive two goals and three assists (TransferMarkt).
Conte has claimed that Doherty did not deserve to play when he first arrived in North London, but the wing-back is now working really hard in training to adapt to Conte’s tactics.
He said (Football London): “Matthew is the typical player that is showing big improvement. If you remember at the start he didn’t play a lot with me because at that moment I think he didn’t deserve to play.
“Then he worked very hard. He is a really good guy and in every training session, you see the desire and the will to improve himself.
“He has a great mentality, many times when players don’t play a lot they go down mentally.
“Instead he has shown me to be strong and shown me ‘I do what you want, I am going to improve and when I am ready I want to play’. He has shown me that not with talking, but with attitude and behaviour.
“He is playing very well and with great confidence and I am very happy for him. It’s a good example for everyone.”
Spurs Web Opinion:
It is no coincidence that Tottenham’s uptick in form has coincided with Doherty’s return to the team. His potent attacking and overlapping style is perfect for Conte’s system and also for Dejan Kulusevski cutting inside.
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