The media is allegedly attempting to “attack” Tottenham Hotspur, but Cristian Stellini claims that their verbal punches would only strengthen his team.
Harry Kane, the team’s most notable player, is reaching the end of his contract and Spurs are now without a permanent head coach for either the men’s or women’s first teams. This past Friday, Fabio Paratici took a leave of absence from his position as general director of football when FIFA extended his 30-month suspension from the Italian football federation internationally.
Following the firing of Antonio Conte and the handling of the Paratici incident, some have declared the club to be in crisis, but Stellini has hit back at the media.
“There is a lot of nonsense all around us. We will continue to play football, more because the team is here, the supporters are here, and the stadium is here. Therefore, every speculation is just useless”, he stated. “The only thing we need to worry about is the game we have to play and how we want to play it.
The more you attempt to criticise us, the closer-knit we get, the more we huddle up, and the more we react. This needs to be made plain to you guys and to everyone else who tries to hit out at us, because by spreading rumours, you merely give us more energy. This needs to be understood by everyone.”
Stellini was made aware that the club’s present position openings and Kane’s contract status are more realities than hypotheses, but he persisted in taking the initiative to answer.
“This is why I suggested that if you keep punching at us, we will all react with more strength. If you keep talking about this, this is what we do,” he said. “I mentioned that Harry Kane is our leading scorer and he wants to play the best matches of his life because this is how I feel and if you attempt to make any assumptions about this, we want to play the next game at our best.”
After a difficult season marked by issues both on and off the field, Stellini assumed control after his longtime football partner Conte left Spurs by mutual consent. The question of whether Conte was able to give his all during the campaign amid the loss of three friends, including famous Tottenham fitness coach Gian Piero Ventrone, as well as Conte’s health issues, was put to Stellini.
“With everything going on around him,” he stated, “this was by far the best decision because I have never seen Antonio not give it his all.” “He pushed himself repeatedly to overcome the circumstances surrounding him, which may have resulted in an excessive amount of effort on his part.
It may have been a factor in the choice, but I’m not going to speculate. I can only vouch for Antonio by saying that he gave every assignment his all. Besides, he persuaded himself to return after the procedure, but it was too soon, which caused another issue. He simply wanted to stay here because he was so passionate about Tottenham.”