Tottenham boss Antonio Conte speaks out on Man Utd snub ahead of Old Trafford trip

Tottenham boss Antonio Conte says he was not in contention to take the Manchester United job and has played down suggestions he was overlooked as he did not have the right profile.

The Italian takes his top-four chasing Spurs side to Old Trafford on Saturday evening with both teams desperate for three points in the race to secure a Champions League berth.

When they last met in the Premier League at the end of October, the match was dubbed ‘El Sackico’ and Nuno Espirito Santo duly lost his job after being on the receiving end of a 3-0 loss.

Conte was brought in shortly afterwards, while Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s stay of execution only lasted a little while longer before he was dismissed three weeks later.

The Italian had been linked with both jobs but it was Spurs who pulled the trigger first, while there had been reports that United’s hierarchy were wary of appointing Conte due to his volatile, straight-talking persona and the level of control he might demand.

Instead, the Red Devils brought in Ralf Rangnick on an interim basis and are now in the process of looking for a new manager, with Mauricio Pochettino and Erik ten Hag the main contenders.

Now Conte has the chance to prove United’s board made the wrong decision in overlooking him for the Old Trafford job, though he insists he is only focused on managing Tottenham and is happy with his decision to move to north London.

‘Honestly, I think that [when] United decided to sack Solskjaer, I [had already] signed for Tottenham,’ the former Inter boss said at his pre-match press conference ahead of facing United.

‘I enjoyed to do this because at that moment I found this situation very good for me, to work in a modern club with a fantastic stadium, with a fantastic training