Antonio Conte is the ‘rocket’ that Tottenham need, insists Rio Ferdinand as Manchester United legend says Italian’s style of ‘ruling with an iron fist’ will benefit beleaguered Spurs
Rio Ferdinand believes Antonio Conte is the ‘rocket’ that Tottenham Hotspur need as the Manchester United legend insisted that the North Londoners need a coach who ‘rules with an iron fist’.
Tottenham’s 3-0 defeat to Manchester United on Saturday was the final straw as Daniel Levy gave Nuno Espirito Santo his marching orders following a poor start to the campaign.
The North Londoners are in turmoil with terrible performances coupled with star man Harry Kane yearning for the exit door leaving the club in crisis and in need of a kickstart.
Rio Ferdinand says that Antonio Conte is the ‘rocket’ that Tottenham Hotspur badly need
Conte is understood to be on the verge of taking over at Spurs and former England defender Ferdinand believes that the Italian is the perfect appointment to stop the rot at the club.
‘Since the Champions League final when they played Liverpool, this team hasn’t had any consistency and confidence, they’ve gone backwards massively – they’re worse off confidence and belief-wise then they were then,’ he told his FIVE podcast.
‘You look at it and if you ask is there anyone in world football who can come in and change the fortunes of this team Conte would have been very high up on my list.
‘He’s a disciplinarian, he doesn’t mess about, he rules with an iron fist and he gets people working. And I think this is what this Spurs squad need.
Spurs are in crisis with poor performances seeing the North Londoners slip down the table
Former Man United star Ferdinand believes Spurs need a coach who sets high standards
‘There are a lot of players who think they are better than they are – and they definitely think they’re better than they are actually performing. They need something like this, they need a rocket.
‘He’s got a proven track record he goes into clubs and changes things and gets things going.’
Conte boasts a superb record of turning clubs around. He took Chelsea from 10th to first in one season, while he ended Juventus’ dominance of Serie A with Inter last term.
Ferdinand added that Conte’s high standards will force Spurs’ under-performing stars to buck their ideas up as they bid to return to Champions League football as quickly as possible.
Conte ‘rules with an iron fist’ and will expect nothing less than the best from his players
‘He went into Chelsea and wins the league first season. He goes into Inter and wins the league. Levy wants someone to come in and give a rocket to these players,’ Ferdinand said.
‘That performance against United was a despondent lacklustre, no authority, no personality-type performance. Sometimes needs must and beggars can’t be choosers.
‘That’s the situation Spurs are in at the moment. It hasn’t worked for Nuno and Levy’s said I want to go to someone where I can get a quick fix.’
Spurs are understood to be in the final stages of talks with Conte over a £15.5million-per-year contract until 2023.
