Clinical Carrow Road win highlights Conte’s transformation of Tottenham

At the end of this hazy, fun, end-of-term romp Antonio Conte could be seen striding out across the Carrow Road turf to join his players in front of the Tottenham support, who had spent the last hour basking and lolling and running through their repertoire of songs, serenading not just the players or the excellent transport links now in place for any potential trip back to Woolwich for their north London neighbours, but above all Conte himself.

Conte had come to Norfolk sporting a kind of narrow-boat chic, blue leather yacht shoes, nautical slacks, navy sweater. As the players celebrated he moved among the white shirts like a general in the field, with a hug here, slap of the chest there, a barked word of praise. The Tottenham fans sang his name again. And in that moment the whole afternoon seemed to turn a shade of Antonio.

Spurs will now return to the Champions League after two years away, a moment that might just end up a key note in the club’s modern history. And for Conte this is a tangible feat of coaching on the hoof, albeit one that now poses its own questions to Tottenham’s owners.

For now, this was an afternoon when everything went right here for Spurs. At Carrow Road they met a Norwich team who weren’t so much thinking about the beach as already dozing under a parasol with a detective novel over their eyes.

By the end it had become a stroll, a beano on the Norfolk coast. A 5-0 win was capped by the most deliriously received moment of the afternoon as Son Heung-min pinged Spurs’ fifth goal, and his second, into the top corner, to ensure he will share the Premier League Golden Boot with Mohamed Salah.

It is an extraordinary achievement for Son, who doesn’t take penalties, who has played in a brittle team under