‘Outplayed’: Tim Sherwood fires a warning to Conte and Tottenham ahead of Newcastle

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Tim Sherwood has said that Antonio Conte needs to take the shackles off Tottenham if they are to challenge for the top spots.

Conte has come under fire in recent weeks for what has been perceived as a defensive set-up. The defeat at Old Trafford in midweek was the latest example of that, with Spurs sitting back and being picked apart by Manchester United.

And speaking on Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday today, former Spurs midfielder and coach Sherwood defended Conte, but said his side needs to win some of the bigger games to really compete.

“They can take teams apart, the bottom teams. If they’re going to get to the top four they’re going to need to win the head to heads. They got outplayed in the north London derby. They went to Chelsea and scored in the 96th minute after being outplayed. Another difficult game was West Ham, they drew that game and lost at Old Trafford,” Sherwood said.

“They beat the teams we’d expect them to beat. Now I know you’ve still got to beat them, it’s a tough league. But they’re going to have to win some of these head to heads and to do that I think they need to take the shackles off.”

TBR’s View: Tottenham Do Need Big Wins

Arsenal have shown in recent weeks how getting those big wins can get the fans onboard and there is no doubt Conte could do with a few of them.

Beating someone like Manchester United, Chelsea, or Liverpool could give Conte breathing room and show that his Spurs team are more than up for the fight of competing for the title.

But, as Sherwood hints here, at the moment they are just doing enough. Big wins need to come at some point, or else there is a chance they slip away come season’s end.