Champions League: Dark clouds loom over Antonio Conte's future as Spurs coach after UCL exit
Milan hold off toothless Tottenham to reach Champions League quarter-finals
"I continue to work; I have a contract with Tottenham. I respect the contract. At the end of the season, assessments will be made with the club in the most serene way," he said. "Let's see how the season ends. Maybe they can send me away even earlier. Perhaps the expectations were higher and may be disappointed. What matters for a coach is trying to work and raise the bar. This year we are struggling to raise the bar."
Conte tried to talk about Tottenham's last-16 exit as progress, arguing that last season they were in the Europa Conference League, but the fans are unlikely to agree.
"We played in the Europa Conference League last year and weren't able to get out of the group stages. Now we took a step forward but it is not enough and if we want to be competitive," he said. "We have to fight."
Meanwhile, Tottenham have now failed to score in their last three games, losing in the FA Cup to second-tier Sheffield United, to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League and now barely laying a glove on an average Milan side.
In his news conference later, Conte said he was sorry for the fans but that the club needed to go "step by step".
"I think the situation is very clear. I always say the same things we need time and patience. We don't have solid foundations to fight and win," Conte, who dragged Tottenham into fourth place in the Premier League last season, told reporters. "We can't make a miracle and I can understand the fans losing patience because for a long time Tottenham have not won anything," he said. "I'm really sorry for the fans but we cannot invent the win. It's important to know this.
"We have to build step by step."
Thursday, March 9, 2023 at 6:09 am