Tottenham manager Antonio Conte experienced extreme highs and lows in his very first assignment as he witnessed his team battle their way to a 3-2 win in the Europa Conference League Group G match against Vitesse Arnhem.
The Spurs were 3-0 up inside 30 minutes in London after Son Heung-Min's opener, a Lucas Moura strike and Jacob Rasmussen's own goal.
However, Rasmussen redeemed himself by scoring again - this time at the right end. Then, Matus Bero made it 3-2 before the break. When Cristian Romero was sent off on the hour, Spurs were well and truly feeling the pressure but two Vitesse red cards in succession eased the pressure.
Conte was pleased with the result, but not the route taken to reach it.
"My first impression, a crazy game because we were winning 3-0 and I think we were dominating the game, created many chances to score other goals," he was quoted as saying by the Press Association.
"Instead in 10 minutes we conceded two goals. In that moment, we lost a bit of confidence. I think we have to work also in this aspect. But we should win and we won. For sure."
However, the Italian manager, who replaced Nuno Espirito Santo, says the team will take time to become consistent again.
"We need time. We need time to work. We need time to work," Conte added. "This is the only aspect that, not I'm afraid, but I'd like to have time to work.
"This time and I, we need to work together to bring them my idea of football and to work tactical aspects, physical aspects, to know them, much better than now.
"This is the only aspect that I am a bit scared, a bit afraid. But I know that there is this type of situation, and for this reason, we need a bit of patience. And I know that I have to be patient. Because is a situation that we don't have too much time to work."
