Antonio Conte believes Tottenham are moving in the right direction after a busy summer transfer window but warned they cannot yet focus on closing the gap to Manchester City and Liverpool.
Spurs have made six major signings after a strong finish to last season saw them beat rivals Arsenal to fourth spot and Champions League qualification.
Tottenham begin the new campaign at home to Southampton on Saturday but the Italian tried to play down talk they could battle with Premier League champions City and Liverpool, who have both had their respective managers of Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp in position for more than six years. “I think we’re going in the right direction but you know very well you need to have a bit of patience,” Conte said. “We know that in England it is difficult to fight to win but we want to try to be competitive, to try to improve on last season and this is our target.
If you ask me about City or Liverpool, my answer is we are talking about two of the best clubs in the world that are working with the same coaches for seven (sic) years. “Now they are in my opinion in a position that is very difficult for the others to close the gap but we have to do this.