Antonio Conte vows to continue telling home truths at Tottenham

Antonio Conte has promised to continue delivering home truths at Tottenham, no matter how brutal, as he suggested his explosive outburst after Wednesday’s defeat at Burnley was merely a sign of how much he cares. The manager offered another one on Friday when he admitted the club was in a much worse state than he had imagined when he joined last November.

“Maybe in my heart, in my mind and my head I thought to find a situation not better but more ready to fight and to win,” Conte said, as he prepared for Saturday’s Premier League game at Leeds. “Instead I found a situation where we have to work a lot, much more than was my expectation to do.

Related: Spurs bank on Conte cooling off but his meltdown should worry them | David Hytner

“But I am not scared about the work. Only through work have I reached an important level in my career. When I arrived here, I did not ask anything. But at the same time, I know that if I arrive here, they know they are taking an important coach, not a medium coach.”

Conte was overcome by rage after Burnley, which was a fourth league defeat in five matches, with resignation about the club’s situation prominent among his emotions. He said that he could not go on like his, adding “maybe I’m not the right guy”, sparking fears he might quit.

The Italian eased them as he looked ahead to Leeds but there was no rowing back on his combative style, nor will there be. Conte, who has regularly shone a harsh light on the squad’s shortcomings, was asked whether his outbursts risked destabilising the players and club. The gist of his answer was that if they did, the players were no good to him anyway.

“If you tell the truth, you destabilise?” Conte said. “In my opinion and in my education … my family said