Antonio Conte praises Tottenham star for overcoming first-half struggles against Leeds

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It was the ideal night for Antonio Conte and Tottenham as they fought back from a goal down to beat Leeds United in North London.

Goals from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Sergio Reguilon proved enough for Tottenham to seal a comeback victory and give Conte a first three points as Spurs manager. Something he duly celebrated wildly at the end.

However, in the opening 45 minutes it looked like Tottenham were in for a rough night against a sharp looking Leeds side. But a slight change of shape and a half-time teamtalk from Conte seemed to do the trick.

And Conte, speaking after the game, was quick to praise his under-fire midfielder Harry Winks for putting the opening 45 minutes behind him.

“Winks struggled a lot with the rest of the team in the first half, second half he played with a lot of personality and played well,” Conte told Football.London.

Winks has been linked with a move to Newcastle United this weekend but put in a solid enough display here. Conte, then, will be hoping to see more of the Englishman in the coming weeks.

TBR’s View: Winks all at sea but Conte right to credit him

That first half from Winks was poor. And in reality, it was a good indicator as to why so many Tottenham fans feel he isn’t good enough for them.

But Conte, ever the master man manager, was right to praise his man after the game. It wasn’t brilliant, but Winks definitely heeded what his manager had obviously said to him at half-time, and it worked.

All Harry Winks can do for Conte at Tottenham is keep trying to perform and show a willingness to learn. From there, it will be down to Conte and his coaching team if they keep Winks around the building or not.