Antonio Conte building a different Tottenham Hotspur team to match his need for 'blood'

It's no coincidence that Antonio Conte's tougher version of Tottenham Hotspur is going to have a very different look to it next season.

Spurs wore a flaky label for years, often exposed as being weak mentally and opposition managers would often rely on that, Sir Alex Ferguson most famously simply stating 'Lads it's Tottenham' in that half-time team talk. Mauricio Pochettino brought more steel to the north London club but even he admitted after a Champions League match against Juventus that his team could do with knowing more about the dark arts of football.

"We saw how the sporting director put pressure on the referee at half-time," Pochettino said. "He was in the corridor. They were complaining about the penalty. Maybe we need to learn how we put pressure on the referee. In this type of game every minimal detail can help you to win."

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On the pitch, the Argentine added after witnessing his players' reaction to one rough challenge on Son Heung-min: "We complained. We put pressure on the referee but it was easy for the referee to manage us because we were very nice people, trying to help to play a game. In this situation, with experience, you have more possibilities to achieve all that you want. That is another game. It’s not only the game playing football.

"Juventus are specialists because they have the habit to win and the habit to put pressure on the referee. It’s a club with a culture to try to do everything to help the team. It’s the small details and I believe those details can help us to achieve what we want."

Behind the scenes as one of the staff at Juventus that day was Fabio Paratici. He is now managing director of football