Journalist shares what shocked him about Antonio Conte leaving Tottenham

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The Athletic journalist Jack Pitt-Brooke has admitted that the timing of Antonio Conte leaving Tottenham Hotspur left him shocked last night.

Tottenham officially announced that Conte had left the club by mutual agreement last night, eight days after his explosive rant.

The club were expected to relieve the Italian of his duties during the week as they searched for potential replacements.

Many fans were surprised that Conte’s assistant, Cristian Stellini, was named as acting head coach after he has worked with the Italian over the past few years. 

But it was the timing of the announcement that left Pitt-Brooke surprised, with Spurs releasing a statement after 10pm on Sunday.

Pitt-Brooke surprised by timing of Conte departure

Pitt-Brooke spoke to TalkSPORT last night and reacted to the news that Conte has officially left Tottenham by mutual agreement.  

“I wasn’t seeing this specific timing coming. I think Spurs caught everyone off guard frankly when putting it out Sunday after 10pm,” the journalist said.

“Clearly the clock was ticking and Tottenham had to make a decision, really by Tuesday which is when the international players start coming back from training and they really start preparing seriously for the Everton game.

“So, they had to do it at some point in the next few days but I’d be lying if I said I was expecting it to come at 10:19pm this [Sunday] evening.”

It seemed inevitable that Conte would leave Tottenham during the international break, but as the day wore on yesterday, many expected an announcement to come on Monday at the earliest.

Nevertheless, Conte’s time at Tottenham is over and the club must go back to the drawing board as they plan for a future without the Italian.

Spurs will be hoping that Stellini and Ryan Mason can deliver a top-four finish, but they face a massive summer ahead in terms of getting the club back on the right path.

The club will be faced with hiring a new manager and convincing their talisman in Harry Kane to extend his stay in north London.