Conte urges Tottenham to 'rediscover belief' after Champions League defeat at AC Milan

Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte has urged his players to "rediscover that belief" after the 1-0 defeat at AC Milan in the Champions League last 16 on Tuesday continued their inconsistent form.

Brahim Diaz scored the only goal of the game in the seventh minute at the San Siro, although the hosts could have taken a bigger advantage to London for the reverse fixture on March 8.

Spurs barely created anything in Milan and after Tuesday's defeat in the first leg of the last 16 matchup and the weekend's heavy loss to Leicester – coming after an impressive win over Manchester City – Conte said it was his job to give his players more confidence.

"I think some players need some more belief, especially in attack. We need to rediscover that belief in we have lost in taking on your man, but there was great effort and desire," Conte told reporters.

"My job is to give players belief in themselves ... we definitely need to try and improve."

Conte has had to deal with serious injuries to Rodrigo Bentancur and Yves Bissouma, which led to him having to pick youngsters Oliver Skipp and Pape Matar Sarr in midfield.

The Italian said the pair's performances gave him hope as he will have to do without Bentancur for the rest of the season while Bissouma needs an operation on a stress fracture to his ankle.

AC MILAN RATINGS: Ciprian Tatarusanu - 6. Three shots on target from Tottenham might have made it look like Tatarusanu had a slightly busy night, but in reality he had very little to do. His backline kept him protected all night. AP

"To play this way in the Champions League and in San Siro in this atmosphere ... they played a really good game, I'm really happy," Conte said.

"This type of performance makes me more relaxed for the