LONDON (Reuters) – Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte hailed his side’s recent progress and said that months of hard work was paying off after they moved into the Premier League top four with a 5-1 thrashing of Newcastle United at home on Sunday.
Spurs were rampant after the break as goals from Ben Davies, Matt Doherty, Son Heung-min, Emerson Royal and Steven Bergwijn propelled them to victory after Newcastle had taken a first-half lead through Fabian Schar.
The win put Tottenham level on 54 points with Arsenal but their London rivals have two games in hand and can move back into fourth place when they visit Crystal Palace on Monday.
“I like to be honest and clear in every moment with my players. I arrived in November and it was difficult to set a target for the season. I found it difficult in many aspects,” said Conte.
“The work we are doing is paying off. It is important for me as I see the commitment of my players every day. A good result is important for the trust in the work we are doing.”
Conte replaced Nuno Espirito Santo in November, with Tottenham ninth in the standings and five points off the Champions League places.
“Now I have had the work of five or six months, to work and bring my idea of football and mentality… I thank my players. From the first day they’ve shown commitment and desire to improve,” he added after Spurs’ third straight league win.
“This league is very difficult to try to be in the race for the Champions League. We want to stay there until the end. We have to try to continue to play this way with intensity, accuracy.
“I was happy before the international break. I said it was a pity we had to stop. I asked my players today to start in the same way we left.”
Tottenham next visit 10th-placed Aston Villa on Saturday.
(Reporting by Dhruv Munjal in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)
