Antonio Conte points to his players rather than his terrible Champions League record, claims Tottenham were the underdogs against Milan and hints he has no intention of remaining with the Premier League club.
Spurs knew they had to score at least twice to secure qualification for the quarter-final after their 1-0 defeat at San Siro, but the only real chance was in stoppages with Mike Maignan palming a Harry Kane header off the line.
Divock Origi also hit the woodwork in injury time, so considering the Rossoneri missed two sitters in the first leg after the Brahim Diaz goal, Milan comfortably deserved to go through.
Cristian Romero already risked a red card in Italy and eventually managed to get himself sent off with two cast-iron yellow cards this evening.
Conte has a terrible record in the Champions League, as since taking Juventus to the quarter-finals in 2013, he has never made it back in the following decade.
“We are not here to talk about the coaches, we need to talk about the teams. Otherwise it becomes reductive,” Conte told Amazon Prime Italia when his European failures were pointed out to him.
“We must always talk about the club and the work that everyone does together, including the coach and the players. This question makes me smile, frankly.”
The Italian tactician if nothing else always brings intensity and passion to his teams, so why did Tottenham look so sluggish this evening?
“This is a team that certainly needs to work a great deal to become competitive at a high level. In my view, there’s a long way to go. I have been here for 14 months, let’s not forget that last season we went out in the Conference League group phase.
“So this is certainly a step forward, we were paired with the Champions of Italy in Milan, whereas Tottenham have not won anything for a very long time.
“In terms of history, these two clubs are on totally different levels. Milan won the Serie A title last season, whereas we scraped through by a miracle going from ninth place to fourth. You need to go through the process, you can’t take short cuts.
“If people think 13-14 months is enough to become competitive, then they are completely wrong. Today the players worked hard, they needed to be more decisive in attack.”
Tottenham knew they needed to score, yet were hardly ever dangerous in the final third and showed very little intensity.
“We had prepared the passing moves in a different way. We were able to find the Number 10 in the pockets to make them decisive in the one-on-one situations in the first half, but struggled a lot after the break. We kept stalling and going backwards.
“It’s not a matter of quality, it is that certain players need to take steps forward and show more character in games like this. Let’s not forget also that we faced Milan missing some important players, though it cannot be used as an excuse.
“Looking at the statistics, it was a very balanced and even game. Over the two legs, we probably lost qualification in the first game.”
Conte was in no better mood when asked if he will remain at Tottenham Hotspur, considering his current contract will expire on June 30.
“That’s a mean question to ask tonight! I am already struggling after that operation. I continue to work, I respect the contract. At the end of the season, we’ll sit down and evaluate the situation with the club, I will have my say…
“I have a contract that is running down and 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.
“What matters for a coach is trying to raise the bar with his work. This year, we are struggling to raise the bar. Bringing the team from medium level to good was much easier, raising it further brings different problems.”