Antonio Conte praised his Tottenham players for showing "great character" in their convincing 4-0 win at Crystal Palace on Wednesday night and believes it will help the team's confidence ahead of upcoming matches against Arsenal and Manchester City.
The pressure had been turned up on Conte and his squad following a 2-0 home defeat by Aston Villa last time out extended a disappointing run of form, with the Italian suggesting he could leave if he was not provided the resources to take the club forward.
However, it was a much-improved performance at Selhurst Park as Harry Kane scored twice before goals from Matt Doherty and Son Heung-min secured an emphatic victory and boosted Tottenham's top-four hopes. Spurs are fifth in the Premier League table, two points behind fourth-placed Manchester United having played a game more.
It was also the first time in 11 games where Tottenham had opened the scoring.
“It’s always important to get three points and have this type of win,” Conte said. “This brings confidence. The game against Aston Villa, after a good first half, we conceded the goal and our confidence dropped a lot.
"To recover in two or three days after a defeat at home where we are expected to win, and to go again, was not easy. The response was really good. My players showed great character, great personality.”
After an FA Cup third-round tie at home against Portsmouth on Saturday, Spurs face fierce rivals and table-toppers Arsenal on their return to league duty next Sunday. Four days later, they travel to face champions Manchester City, whom they play again at the start of February.
Crystal Palace v Tottenham player ratings
Not only does Conte feel that the win over Palace will provide some valuable confidence, but he also hopes to welcome back several players in time for those crucial matches.
“We know we face Arsenal and Man City, the two title contenders for this Premier League,” he said. “To arrive with a good win is really important. I hope to recover players who are injured. We are talking about important players. I hope in these 10 days to have all the players available: Richarlison, Kulu [Dejan Kulusevski], [Rodrigo] Bentancur.”
Palace were expected to present a challenge to Tottenham but manager Patrick Vieira said his team was undone by the "quality of the Spurs forwards".
“It was a tough night,” Vieira said. “To concede four goals, I think that doesn’t reflect the quality of the game we played today.
“I think we deserved more, especially in the first half with those situations and chances we created, and of course, when they scored that first goal, it became really difficult for us
“When those [Tottenham] players have a little bit of space, they can hurt any team. The way they managed the game and the way they managed the difficult period they had showed a huge difference between the two teams.
“Their experience was a massive factor in the game today.”
