Spurs face uncertain future despite Conte return for AC Milan clash

LONDON: Antonio Conte’s uncertain future threatens to ruin Tottenham’s spluttering season as the Italian returns to the bench for Wednesday’s decisive Champions League showdown against AC Milan.

Conte is set to be back in charge of Tottenham after missing the last four games as he recovered from gallbladder surgery.

Watching on television back home in Italy while remaining in contact with his assistant Cristian Stellini, Conte saw Tottenham endure a choppy period that encapsulated the club’s inconsistent form throughout his reign.

A pair of 2-0 wins against West Ham and Chelsea suggested Tottenham were on course to clinch a top four place in the Premier League with a flourish.

But that optimism was punctured by a dismal 1-0 loss at second tier Sheffield United in the FA Cup fifth round and another drab league defeat by the same score at Wolves on Saturday.

Conte has walked back into Tottenham’s plush training complex this week to find a club not exactly in crisis — they still sit fourth in the Premier League for now — but once again drifting seemingly without direction toward an anti-climactic end to the season.

The north Londoners haven’t won a major trophy since 2008 and even a manager of Conte’s pedigree has been unable to break the drought.

While Jurgen Klopp memorably referred to his Liverpool players as “mentality monsters” during the peak of their success under the German, Tottenham’s often limp response to pressure has made them look more like “mentality midgets.”

Conte has portrayed Tottenham’s problems as beyond his control, subtlely hinting at frustration with the transfer policy of chairman Daniel Levy without completely condemning him in public.

But the 53-year-old is taking his share of the blame