Tottenham boss Antonio Conte divides opinion in Simon Jordan and Danny Murphy ‘demon’ debate

Antonio Conte has split opinion in the talkSPORT studio following Tottenham’s brilliant win over Newcastle United.

Spurs ran riot on Sunday in a superb home display, beating a recently improved Newcastle United 5-1.

Ben Davies, Matt Doherty, Son Heung-min, Emerson Royal and Steven Bergwijn were all on target as Conte’s men made easy work of the Magpies.

Tottenham remain outsiders in the top four race, but they are keeping the pressure on Arsenal, who play this evening.

And that alone represents a solid turnaround following the disappointing start to the season under Nuno Espirito Santo.

Conte has been key to that, though, he is still dividing some opinion with his intense methods of coaching.

And talkSPORT pundits Danny Murphy and Simon Jordan are the latest to disagree.

When asked about the lure of playing for Conte, Murphy said: “That’s a personal thing, because if you know him, and you have worked with him, then ‘yes’ would be the answer.

“‘No’ from afar. What? You want to work for a highly emotional, workaholic manager who has you training like a demon and doesn’t take any backchat?

“I’m not sure he is the most appealing manager in the world if you don’t know him. If I was player, I wouldn’t want to go play for Conte, a tyrant, and I say that in a nice way,”

In response, former Crystal Palace chief Jordan argued: “If you’re a top player, surely, it’s not about the perception of a manager, whether he is a workaholic or someone who drives you to be the best you can be. If you’re a top player, surely that’s the environment you want to be in?

“So, Conte is someone who drives you to a level of attainment. He takes Victor Moses from a bit player at Chelsea to a Champions League-winning wing-back.

“Players will look at it, surely, and say, if I fancy going to Tottenham because it’s in the mix, surely the added benefit of Conte, if I’m a winner and I want to be in a winning environment, then surely Conte would be an allure not a deterrent.”