Antonio Conte insists he will ‘stay strong’ until the end of the season amid fears he may walk away

Antonio Conte has stressed that he is enjoying his time at Tottenham and vowed to ‘stay strong’ until the end of the season.

The Spurs manager is only two and a half months in to his time at Spurs but is already worried that the club will not back him in the January transfer window.

Asked ahead of Sunday’s North London Derby with Arsenal, Conte was cagey about his future amid fears he may walk away.

Spurs Antonio Conte is ‘staying strong’ despite concern he may not be backed on transfers 

But the Italian did say: ‘I repeat that I am enjoying myself here.

‘There is a fantastic atmosphere, great stadium and training ground and our fans are incredible. They are always behind us.

‘I am enjoying my time at Tottenham and I want to improve the situation. The people deserve much more than this.

‘I am strong and will be strong until the end of the season. The players understand me and want to improve. We are seeing that improvement but it will take time.’

Conte signed an 18 month contract with the option of another year when he replaced Nuno Espirito Santo at the start of winter.

Tottenham’s form has stuttered over the last five games, struggling to break teams down and looking shoddy at the back

The former Chelsea manager said today: ‘We agreed on that length so that I could see the situation and so that the club could get to get to understand the coach they were about to work with.’

As reported by Sportsmail on Friday, Tottenham players fear Antonio Conte could quit next month if he is not backed with new signings in the January transfer window.

Spurs have enjoyed an unbeaten start under Conte in the Premier League but the meek surrender against Chelsea in the Carabao Cup semi-final and Sunday’s showing against League One Morecambe have highlighted the club’s lack of squad depth.

The Italian wants to refresh his squad and has held talks with club chairman Daniel Levy

Wolves Adama Traore is believed to be a key transfer target for Antonio Conte in January

Spurs players have been concerned the boss could walk away if he is not backed in window

Since the Champions League final in 2019, Tottenham have spent in excess of £300million on new players without significantly strengthening the first team and Conte has quickly identified the positions he needs to address.

The manager held crunch talks with Daniel Levy and director of football Fabio Paratici this week, making clear his feelings. 

Conte is known to want to sign forward Adama Traore from Wolves and is prepared to let defender Matt Doherty go the other way. He also wants a central defender and an understudy for striker Harry Kane.

Another forward, Steven Bergwijn, has been linked with a move to Ajax, but Conte said he wants to keep the Dutchman at the club.

The 52-year-old also revealed there is one new suspected Covid case at the club and that defender Eric Dier will miss Sunday’s game with an injury.

Conte is known to have targets, including Adama Traore,  he would like to bring to the club