Report: Tottenham insiders believe Conte is purposely sabotaging certain tactical elements

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Tottenham might be doing well in the Premier League this season but their style of play under Antonio Conte has been called into question.

Conte has often deployed a more defensively sound structure and that has seen them drop points when perhaps, on another day, a more attacking approach might have yielded different results. Of course, Conte let the shackles off against Leicester and the result was a 6-2 win, so some fans are expecting more of that.

However, according to The Independent’s Miguel Delaney, there might well be a good reason for Conte’s tactics.

Delaney writes in his latest Reading the Game report how Conte has one eye on the World Cup. With that in mind, it’s believed that Conte is setting his team up more defensively due to an opinion that the tournament in Qatar could be set to ‘wreak havoc’ on his Spurs player’s schedules and workloads.

It’s suggested how those close to the management team believe Conte is trying to exercise an element of restraint for his team, so that they don’t burn out over the winter.

Certainly, it will be interesting to see just how Spurs go for things when the players do return from Qatar and if there is a noticeable improvement in pressing and intensity.

TBR’s View: Conte Knows What He Is Doing

This is an interesting report this one. And in a way, it would make sense if this is what Conte has up his sleeve.

He is known for wanting his team to play a high press, high energy way. However, with the World Cup in mind, he might simply be putting the brakes on his team while trying to balance still being around the top positions.

If Conte pulls it off and Spurs do motor on in the second part of the season, then it will be a masterstroke.