Bug fails to upset ‘happy’ Conte as Tottenham aim to bag fourth spot

Antonio Conte has said Tottenham’s Champions League push will not be derailed by a sickness bug as he closes in on an achievement he suggested was nothing more than fantasy when he took over at the start of November.

The club’s supporters were given a nightmarish flashback on Friday lunchtime when Gary Lineker revealed he had heard “there’s a food poisoning outbreak at Spurs”. Numerous players at the club had fallen ill on the eve of the final-day decider at West Ham in 2006 – in the notorious Lasagna-gate episode – when they needed to win to secure a top four finish ahead of Arsenal. They lost and Arsenal pipped them to the position.

This time, Conte’s team must avoid defeat at Norwich to ensure they qualify ahead of Arsenal, who face Everton at home.

Harry Kane did not train on Friday because of a stomach bug but Conte stressed that the striker would be fine. The virus had affected four players before last Sunday’s home win over Burnley – Hugo Lloris, Pierluigi Gollini, Harry Winks and Dejan Kulusevski – although they were fit enough to be in the squad. Lloris started and Kulusevski came on as a substitute. One other unnamed player missed training earlier in the week but Conte said he had returned.

“In my mind, it is not a problem,” Conte said, as the club stressed it was not food poisoning. “We are ready to fight and get a good result. For sure, Harry [Kane] will be OK. The availability of the players is the same as against Burnley. It [the bug] is a problem that lasts one or two days and then you are OK.”

Spurs were eighth when Conte replaced Nuno Espírito Santo, and the outlook was bleak. Daniel Levy, the chairman, did not set any targets for Conte beyond telling him to improve the situation. “If he had asked me: ‘I