Despite their chances of finishing in the top four being jeopardized, Antonio Conte insisted that Tottenham’s goalless draw against Brentford was a positive outcome for his team.
Spurs dropped points again and struggled to challenge Thomas Frank’s side after losing 1-0 to Brighton late last week.
With five games remaining, Conte’s side is still in fifth place in the Premier League rankings, two points behind fourth-place Arsenal.
‘We’re in this race and want to strive to stay in it, but we know it’s going to be tough,’ Conte added. ‘When playing against you, the opponent attempts to pay more attention.’ We have no choice but to live with the situation. Today’s draw is a good one. Brentford was particularly dangerous from set-pieces and played with a high level of passion.’
‘It was an extremely challenging game.’ They were a physical crew who attempted to take advantage of the risky locations. We did a decent job defensively, but I believe we can do a lot better with the ball to create more chances. When you can’t win, however, it’s crucial to take one point.’
On May 12, Tottenham and Arsenal will face off in a potential winner-takes-all North London derby, but Conte appeared to imply that the odds are stacked against his team because they have been playing catch-up since his arrival.
‘We should be proud to be in this competition because we began working on it in November,’ he said.
Continuing to defend his club, the Italian conceded that Tottenham had a difficult time at the Brentford Community Stadium because of the Bees’ formation. Spurs failed to register a shot on target for the second week in a row.
‘We’ve discovered that opponents defend deep with ten players and two forwards ready to counter,’ Conte added. ‘We don’t think this scenario is easy. However, we are attempting to do our best.’