Antonio Conte has said his future will be decided at the end of the season and has called on Tottenham to match his ambition with facts and not words.
The Italian has given the biggest hint yet that he can see a long-term stay at Spurs for himself, though only if the club are on the same page as him.
Conte has previously been evasive when asked about how long he might stay at the club, but said the “best solution for both” will be discussed when the campaign has finished.
That could hinge on whether Spurs support Conte’s insatiable desire to win trophies by backing him in the transfer market.
“For sure at the moment there is only one truth – I am committed to this club for another year,” he said.
“The club wanted this type of situation and I accepted it because it was good to get to know each other. After four months I think the club have understood the way I want to work and I understand the club.
“We have three more months until the end of the season to continue to improve our knowledge of each other and then to find the best solution for both.
“I can tell you that I am enjoying working for this club and I would like to fight for something important for this club.
“For sure it is true that I would like this – to fight for the future, to fight to be competitive, to fight to win and not only to finish fourth in the league, because I repeat, that is not my ambition.
“My ambition is to be competitive and to fight to win. I want this and I know my heart, my soul, my mind wants these things. I hope myself and the club match each other in this situation.
“For sure, you need in the future to have other important steps and to have ambition. And it needs to be ambition with facts, not only with words.”
Another contributing factor to Conte’s future could be where Spurs finish in the Premier League table.
He admitted for the first time that the target is to break into the top four and the crunch clash at Manchester United on Saturday could go a long way to deciding their fate.
He does insist, though, that his side need one of the big guns to slip up in order to make it.
“At the moment I can tell you that from when I arrived in Tottenham we have improved a lot on many aspects, tactical and technical, physical and mental aspects,” he said.
“I know I was the first to say that I don’t want to see up and down, up and down. I want to see a stable team. I think we are improving a lot in many aspects.
“We are trying to reduce this gap that exists because in this moment in this league in my opinion – and I say my opinion but my opinion is normally true – there is Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea. They are at the top, top, top.
“At the moment you have to hope that one of the teams fail to finish in the top four. If that situation happens for sure we need to stay very close and in the first position to try to fight until the end for a place in the Champions League.”
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