Conte accepts it will take time to develop 'winning mentality' at Spurs

Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte said his players have to be able to survive his demands if they are to develop a winning mentality after another disappointing result.

Spurs saw their hopes of a top-four finish suffering a huge blow with a 2-0 home defeat to Wolves, who overtook them in the table after scoring two goals inside the first 20 minutes.

The visitors' win, courtesy of goals from Raul Jimenez and Leander Dendoncker, enhanced their own chances of Champions League qualification.

It was a third straight Premier League loss for Spurs, hot on the heels of Wednesday's 3-2 reverse to Southampton, with Conte again spelling out just how far his side are from challenging at the top end of the Premier League.

"The problem is that you cannot buy the winning mentality," the Italian said. "You transfer it day by day and (you are) not sure that (it is) day by day, because there are players that are more open and they understand the process quickly, other players need more time to understand this.

"Winning mentality in my opinion means when you play, (thinking) ‘I am ready to kill you and to live'. This is the difference in every duel, every second ball, every set-piece.

"When you show better desire than your opponent, when you understand the defeats have to hurt you a lot, not a little… This is not simple.

"The confidence and pressure is part of our job – the pressure for me, the pressure for the players.

"I think this type of situation is part of our job. If you remember, when I spoke about improving many aspects, it wasn't only today after two defeats in a row at home I tell you a different situation.

"I continue to tell the same things. There is a long road, a long path in front of us. Long. It's important for us not to be