Antonio Conte admits one Spurs star is now growing in confidence 

Antonio Conte has revealed that he is extremely pleased for Matt Doherty as the right-back is now growing in confidence with each game.

Most Tottenham fans would have expected Doherty to start the season as Conte’s first choice in the right wing-back role after the performances he put in during the second half of last season.

However, the Italian kept persisting with Emerson Royal for the first couple of months of the campaign and reasoned that the Republic of Ireland international was not at 100 per cent physically (Football London).

Emerson’s three-match suspension due to his red card in the North London derby forced Conte’s hand into handing starts to Doherty against Brighton and Everton, with the 30-year-old putting in two solid displays.

The Spurs head coach was extremely complimentary of the former Wolves man after his showing against the Toffees, explaining that he looked like the player he knew from last season (Football.London).

Conte has now offered a more detailed explanation of Doherty’s struggles early in the season, explaining that the right-back was short of confidence after coming back from his injury.

The 53-year-old told Football.London on Monday: “About Matthew, he needed time, time to recover well.

“On the physical aspect and I think also with the mental aspect, because last season Matthew started the season struggling a lot and then when he started to play he played very well and he had an amazing season in my opinion.

“He took a lot of confidence in his potentiality. What happened for sure if your feeling is good, you feel yourself strong.

“Then it happened a serious injury and he struggled a lot to recover from this injury. During the training sessions, the player didn’t feel the same confidence of the past and in my opinion for this reason he needed more time to be fit and to be good, to have good form. Now he came back and I’m really pleased for him. 

“It was really important also for him to go with the international team and play two games in a row. Then he played against Brighton, he played a good game.

“Then in the last game, he played really well. I’m really happy for him because we are talking about a really good guy and especially also a player who needs to feel confidence in himself.”

Spurs Web Opinion

Many Spurs fans were understandably frustrated with Conte for his unwillingness to play Doherty over Emerson but we have to trust in the coaching staff’s judgment as they are the ones who watch these players train regularly.

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