Antonio Conte admitted Tottenham might want to get rid of him before the end of his contract, meaning he could be sacked for the third time in his career.
The Italian tactician’s deal in North London expires at the end of the season, and he is not expected to continue at the club beyond the summer.
“I have a contract that is running down. We’ll see how the season ends. You never know, the club might want to get rid of me earlier. Perhaps they had higher expectations and can be disappointed,” Conte told Amazon Prime Video in Italy after Tottenham’s Champions League elimination at the hands of Milan on Wednesday night.
If Tottenham sack Conte before the end of the season, the Italian tactician will be dismissed for the third time in his career.
The first time Conte was sacked was during his first season in charge of a professional team. Serie B side Arezzo fired him in October 2006, hiring another emerging coach, Maurizio Sarri. Conte was re-called in March 2007, but could not help Arezzo avoid relegation to Serie C also because Juventus surprisingly lost the last game of the season against the Granata’s direct rivals Spezia in Turin.
Conte then spent one year and a half at Bari, leading the Galletti to a Serie A promotion and leaving the club by mutual consent after his feat.
He made his Serie A debut with Atalanta in 2009, replacing Angelo Gregucci at the end of September. However, Conte resigned after earning 13 points in 13 matches. Relegated Siena hired him in May 2010 and the Italian tactician brought the Bianconeri back to Serie A the following season after which he signed for Juventus.
He remained in Turin from 2011 until 2014 when he controversially left the club one day into the 2014-15 pre-season. He was then appointed by Italy, remaining in charge for barely two years. He signed for Chelsea in the summer of 2016 but was sacked two years later, beginning a legal battle with Roman Abramovich.
That was the second time Conte was sacked given that the following two-year spell at Inter was ended by mutual agreement between the club and coach days after the Nerazzurri’s title win.