Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte is looking to temper what he described as unrealistic expectations of a top-four finish in the Premier League after his side were booed off following a damaging 2-0 home defeat to Aston Villa.
Spurs paid for a lacklustre display against Villas as second-half goals from Emiliano Buendia and Douglas Luiz gave the visitors all three points.
Tottenham conceded first for the 10th fixture in a row and have dropped to fifth in the table following Manchester United’s win at Wolves on New Year's Eve.
Spurs were tipped to mount a serious title challenge after Conte guided the North Londoners to a fourth-place finish in the league last season.
The Italian described that achievement as a “miracle” and said he had expected the squad's limitations to be exposed this term as the club looks to play catch up on their rivals, despite recruiting Clement Lenglet, Ivan Perisic, Yves Bissouma and Richarlison last summer.
“I know what is the reality because I am the coach,” he said. “The club knows very well what are my thoughts on the situation. The situation was very clear. I continue to work and to improve and to help you to improve the club, to create a solid foundation and then to develop.
“You have to know that there are clubs who can invest £200 million or £300 million and others with different policies and I repeat you have to respect the policy.
“The policy has to be very clear with all people otherwise we created a situation that’s not positive for the environment to create expectations that are not realistic, honestly.
“I was expecting this moment. Now we have to start to fight strong, because the situation in this league you can slip quickly.
“If you ask me if I’m scared, I’m not scared. I believe in my work, I believe in these players, but don’t ask me for things I cannot promise you.”
Spurs v Villa ratings
-
TOTTENHAM RATINGS: Hugo Lloris 5: First game since World Cup final heartbreak with France. Villa's first shot on target did not arrive until 50th minute but when it did, Lloris could only parry Luis’s effort out leading to Buendia opening the scoring. No chance with second. Getty -
Clement Lenglet 5: Easily beaten by Watkins early in game and relieved to see Villa man shoot wide. Booked in 31st minute for hauling down Bailey. Both Lenglet and defensive colleague Romero failed to react quick enough after Lloris spilled shot that resulted in opening goal. Reuters -
Ben Davies 6: Became third Spurs defender to pick up first-half booking for jumping into challenge on Young. Part of backline that looked fragile in second period. Getty -
Cristian Romero 5: Playing first game since winning World Cup with Argentina and straight into action with crunching tackle from behind on Luiz. Booked within half an hour for similar challenge on Watkins. Lucky to escape seeing red for late shove on Coutinho. Reuters -
Ivan Perisic 6: Supplied lovely cross for Kane that almost resulted in Spurs striker opening scoring five minutes before break. Put second-half shot over the bar on the stretch that would have levelled the scores. EPA -
Matt Doherty 6: Nice piece of skill to put ball through Mings's legs early on. Good tracking back and recovery challenge to block Watkins effort on goal. AFP -
Yves Bissouma 4: Having former Brighton man in same centre of midfield as Hojbjerg is probably not the best of plans with both failing to produce any creative spark here. Failed to track back as Luiz ran through to put Villa two up. Booked for clumsy challenge on Kamara and will miss next game. Reuters -
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg 4: Game to forget for Dane. One wayward pass from middle of park that flew well wide of teammate and out for throw-in summed up his day. Spurs desperately missed attacking flair of Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur in midfield. AFP -
Bryan Gil 6: In for the injured Kulusevski, young Spaniard made first Premier League start and showed flashes of skill without managing any major moments of note. Hooked just after hour mark. EPA -
Son Heung-min 3: Ditched protective mask for fractured eye socket soon after game started but failed to inspire South Korean in first half, when his distribution and dead-ball kicks were poor. Arguably even worse after break. Getty -
Harry Kane 5: Was 20th minute before England captain even touched ball, but denied goal 20 minutes later when Young cleared his header off line. No other opportunities to score as Villa’s defence kept him well in check. AFP -
SUBS: Ryan Sessegnon (On for Gil 63’) 5: Missed last couple of games with hamstring problem and looked rusty after coming on. PA -
Pape Sarr (On for Bissouma 81’) N/A. AP -
Emerson Royal (On for Doherty 81’) N/A. AFP -
Oliver Skipp (On for Hojberg 90’) N/A. AFP -
Djed Spence (On for Perisic 90’) N/A. AFP -
ASTON VILLA RATINGS: Robin Olsen 7: Kept place in goal despite Emiliano Martinez being back on the bench after World Cup duty and enjoyed very easy day at office as Tottenham offered little attacking threat, particularly in second half. EPA -
Ashley Young 7: Veteran wideman looked like his game might be over after injuring leg in clash with Davies but managed to play on, which was lucky for Villa as it was Young who headed Kane chance off line later in half. Reuters -
Ezri Konsa 8: Beaten to header by Kane in first half that needed Young to clear but did little else wrong at back, ably assisted by a passive Tottenham attack. Booked for time wasting in second half – much to defender’s fury. EPA -
Tyrone Mings 7: Nutmegged by Doherty early in game and needed rescuing by Kamara to prevent Spurs wideman shot on goal. Comfortable up against England teammate Kane. Booked for late challenge on Spurs striker in second half. AFP -
Lucas Digne 6: Very solid work defensively although not the usual surging runs forward the French full-back is capable of. PA -
John McGinn 7: Perfect through-ball from captain to pick out Luiz who ran through to score Villa’s second. Seemed to pull his hamstring minutes later and limped off pitch which will be concern for Villa. AP -
Douglas Luiz 8: Had Villa’s first shot on target five minutes after half-time with whipped effort that Lloris made mess of leading to Buendia scoring. Brilliant touch and finish to put Villa 2-0 up. Tweaked his knee shooting at goal soon after to give visitors another injury worry. AFP -
Boubacar Kamara 8: Brilliantly timed challenge to deny Doherty early chance to score and bossed the midfield throughout. Far more dynamic than his Spurs counterparts in centre of park. EPA -
Emi Buendia 7: One curling shot way off target in first half, more joy with first effort after break when his low finish put Villa in front. Reuters -
Leon Bailey 5: Frustrating day for Jamaican who felt aggrieved that several challenges on him failed to result in free-kick. Little threat on goal from player whose promising new partnership with Watkins in attack failed to click into gear at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. AFP -
Ollie Watkins 8: Created chance for himself in opening 10 minutes by cutting inside from left but could only fire weak shot wide of target. Razor sharp reactions to pick up Lloris spill and set-up goal for Buendia. Led line well for Villa. Reuters -
SUBS: Matty Cash (On for Bailey 66’) 7: Fresh from playing likes of Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe at World Cup. Pole slotted straight into team who had taken control of game. Getty -
Philippe Coutinho (On for McGinn 77’) N/A. Reuters -
Danny Ings (On for Konsa 82’) N/A. AP -
Calum Chambers (On for Luiz 82’) N/A. Booked for time wasting. Reuters -
Jan Bednarek (On for Buendia 82’) N/A. Getty
Spurs were booed off after a third home defeat in five matches with chants aimed at chairman Daniel Levy during the second half.
Conte insisted: “I continue to repeat that last season we made a miracle.
“I was very clear with the club because in this moment and before to become a title contender, because I remember very well in the summer at the start people talked about Tottenham as title contenders but in my experience it was a bit crazy to read this.
“People think you arrive and you win. This can happen for a team that are used to winning in the past. But if you are not used to it it means you have to create this situation and for this reason you need time and patience.
“I understand that the fans are disappointed because they can say ‘but we’ve been patient for a long time’, I understand it but the situation is this. If you want the truth I can tell you the truth.”
Unai Emery praised the focus of his Aston Villa team after they earned a third win in four matches since his arrival.
“We spent yesterday, the 31st of December, here in London in a hotel and we wanted to show this afternoon the match is our priority. The players did a very good performance,” ex-Arsenal boss Emery said.
