‘Conte has the depth and flexibility he needs’

Jermaine Jenas, MOTD2 pundit & former Tottenham midfielder

Plenty of Tottenham teams of the past – including the ones I played in – went to Chelsea, played really well and got beaten. When we didn’t perform, we always lost.

On Sunday, we finally saw that a Spurs side can go there without getting anywhere near the levels we know they can, and still get a result against a Chelsea team that – to a man – has played out of their skin.

The ability to do that is what Antonio Conte was searching for with the signings he has made.

He has players in his team now who have got character and set standards in matches even when the team are playing poorly and getting dominated the way they were by Chelsea.

That’s why Spurs weren’t beaten on Sunday; because they are starting to develop an understanding of what it means to go all the way in games, not to give up – and how to fight.

The beauty of all the signings Conte has made is that they give him the depth and flexibility to make the changes he needs.

His options now are vast, to change shape as well as personnel, instead of him looking behind him during a game and thinking ‘what’s the point?’, because he might as well stick with the best XI he has got on the pitch.

But solving any kind of problems with your substitutes is another ability all the other top teams have, and it’s something else Tottenham can say they can do now too.

Read more of Jenas’ analysis on Sunday’s game here