Antonio Conte moans Tottenham have a ‘crazy’ schedule with a trip to Man City sandwiched by two Champions League games in seven days – just months after telling Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta to ‘stop complaining’ about his schedule!
- Conte has been speaking at his press conference ahead of the Marseille clash
- The Italian fumed at what he believes is an unfair fixture schedule for his side
- Spurs are facing their second consecutive run of three games in six days
- But just months ago Conte was telling Mikel Arteta to stop similar complaints
Tottenham manager Antonio Conte has hit out at his side’s ‘crazy’ run of fixtures as he urged his club to lobby Premier League chiefs for a kinder schedule in future.
Spurs open their Champions League campaign at home to Marseille on Wednesday, starting a run of three games in six days.
Conte’s men travel to the Etihad to face champions Manchester City on Saturday before a trip to Sporting Lisbon the following Tuesday.
Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte is not happy with his team’s fixture scheduling
It is the second consecutive run of three games in six days for Spurs after they played Nottingham Forest, West Ham and Fulham last week.
‘Honestly to see this schedule is incredible, it’s crazy,’ Conte said at his press conference ahead of the Marseille clash.
‘We played three games in six days, now we are playing after four days but we are starting again to play Marseille, City, Sporting in six days. I think this is the first time in my career to see a schedule like this.
Spurs’ clash with Fulham was their third game in six days – and they face another similar run
Conte takes his Spurs side to champions Manchester City between two Champions League games
‘Compared to the other teams Tottenham have been penalised a lot. We have been unlucky.
‘I’ve spoken to the club that we need to pay great attention to speak to the Premier League. One day more or less can completely change your life.’
Liverpool have a similar run to Spurs as they are away at Napoli on Wednesday before back-to-back home games against Wolves and Ajax on Saturday and Tuesday.
The other Premier League teams in the Champions League – City and Chelsea – have an extra day’s rest compared to Spurs.
Conte told Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta to ‘stop complaining’ about fixture congestion back in May
It has not gone unnoticed among fans that Conte’s comments are in a similar vein to those of Arsenal rival Mikel Arteta – who he told to ‘stop complaining’ about fixture congestion back in May.
‘Mikel Arteta is a really good coach,’ Conte said amid the battle for a place in the top four. ‘He has just started to do this job, and I think that I listen to him complain a lot.
‘I think that he has to be focused more to his team and not to go to complain because he has just started this work. I think that he has to be calm and try to continue to work because he is very good but to listen to a coach complain a lot of times is not good.’
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