Antonio Conte’s bizarre ‘totally different’ Tottenham claim ahead of Man City clash

Antonio Conte has dropped a bombshell over Tottenham’s top four hopes this season.

Despite a disappointing start to the campaign and a change of manager, Spurs are very much in the top four race heading into the final months.

Conte’s men are currently seven points behind Manchester United in fourth, but they also have three games in hand, which could prove key.

The issue is that Arsenal also have three games in hand, and if they win those games, they will be three points ahead of Tottenham.

But whatever the maths, Spurs are in with a chance, and fans will be feeling as though it is at least half a chance.

But according to head coach Conte, that chance may be significantly less than half.

Speaking to beIN SPORTS, Conte claimed that Tottenham are a long way from fighting for a title, admitting it feels strange for him to be battling for fourth place.

“Yeah. In the past, I always say that I have to feel like I have at least one percent chance to win,” he said.

“In this case, to win the league, and for sure, here, the situation is strange because I feel the one percent possibility is to have the ambition to finish fourth because the situation is totally different.

“This league is a very high level and there is not a lot of space at this moment for other teams other than the top teams.

“For this reason, because the level is high, and you know every team wants to improve - not only Tottenham but Arsenal, Leicester, West Ham, Aston Villa, Newcastle and also teams like Brighton and Wolverhampton. They want to improve and we have to fight with these teams and not the top teams.

“We have to know this and it’s important to not be scared about the situation now, but we need to have the desire and the will to fight the situation.

“For me, it’s a totally different situation compared to my past.”

Tottenham have a huge test up next, facing leaders Manchester City, and they face being knocked further off pace in the race for the top four.

But they do have plenty of time to close in on those above them, and they will be hoping to build their chances up to above and beyond the one percent mark to ensure they don’t end up back in the UEFA Conference League next season.