Tottenham reaching Champions League would be ‘miracle’: Conte

Tottenham Hotspur’s Italian head coach Antonio Conte gestures on the touchline during the English League Cup quarter-final football match between Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, on December 22, 2021. (Photo by Ben STANSALL / AFP) /

Tottenham manager Antonio Conte believes it will be a “miracle” if his side qualifies for next season’s Champions League.

Spurs are three points behind fourth-placed Arsenal after battling back into the race to finish in the top four.

Manchester United sit one point adrift of Conte’s men in fifth, with both teams having played a game more than the Gunners.

Tottenham can temporarily climb above Arsenal if they beat Newcastle by two goals on Sunday before their north London rivals visit Crystal Palace on Monday.

But Conte still believes it would be a miraculous feat for Tottenham to reach the Champions League after an inconsistent season that saw the Italian hired to replace the sacked Nuno Espirito Santo in November.

“Before it’s right to underline that this target is very, very difficult. We are not the only team that wants to try to do this miracle,” Conte told reporters on Friday.

“There’s also Arsenal, that in this moment has an advantage, and then there is United. United is the team that in this season are struggling a lot.

“There are a top four, who at this moment are stronger clubs than the others, for many reasons. Chelsea, Liverpool, City and United. Last season Liverpool struggled to reach a Champions League place.

“Then Liverpool have taken this place. And this season it depends on United. At the moment we are among the teams that have to try to stay very close and exploit if someone fails this season.”

Frustrated by a series of poor results and a