Antonio Conte needs time to reconfigure Tottenham Hotspur
For a Tottenham Hotspur fan, the arrival of Antonio Conte was a message of hope. The Italian tactician is a proven winner of European league titles and success follows him wherever he goes.
Spurs' last trophy win came almost 14 years ago with the 2008 League Cup. Despite coming close to winning both the Premier League and the Champions League in recent years, they have faltered at the final hurdle.
Antonio Conte's immediate task as he came in was to push the club for Champions League qualification. For a club that was stuttering ninth in the table when former coach Nuno Espirito Santos was sacked, it has been a decent turnaround so far.
After staying unbeaten since Conte's arrival in the early fixtures, the club's pale patch came in three back-to-back games against Chelsea in January. They lost all three games - two in the Carabao Cup and one in the league. Spurs' latest defeat came against Southampton on Wednesday.
One January transfer market is not enough
If Tottenham Hotspur are to compete with the premier clubs in England, one transfer market will never be enough. Pep Guardiola's recruitment over four transfer windows enabled him to make Manchester City the champions of England.
Spurs did the right thing in January by getting rid of Dele Alli and Tanguy Ndombele as they were no longer part of the manager's plan.
The arrivals of Swedish international Dejan Kulasevski and Juventus midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur will not only add depth to the squad but quality as well. Kulasevski was quite impressive in his debut outing against Brighton and Hove Albion.
Nevertheless, they need more changes at the club .
New players need time at Tottenham
The Spurs faithful have to show patience with the new recruits. Following their defeat to Southampton, pundits criticized the pair for hampering Tottenham's momentum and fluidity.
Former boss Tim Sherwood blamed the duo exclusively for failing to show guile and gamesmanship to hold onto the lead. Both Kulasevski and Bentancur came on to the pitch after Heung Min-Son gave Spurs a 2-1 lead. Tottenham capitulated later on to lose all three points.
These are the moments when fans and pundits have to refrain themselves from further destabilizing the club they support. The new arrivals need time to understand the demands of the Premier League.