Tottenham head coach Antonio Conte has called on his “big players” Harry Kane, Heung-Min Son and Hugo Lloris to step up in the race to finish in the top four.
Saturday’s 3-2 defeat at Manchester United left Spurs as big outsiders for Champions League qualification, with Conte’s side sitting eighth in the table, six points
behind fourth-placed Arsenal, who have a game in hand on Spurs.
But ahead of Wednesday’s match at Brighton, the Italian wants captain Lloris and star forwards Kane and Son to “lead” the club back into the top four.
“If you want to have a hope to fight until the end for this type of target, this is the moment I have to ask a lot to the big players,” he said.
“To Harry, Hugo and Sonny. These players have to lead the situation to keep us until the end there.
“At the moment, experience is very important. We don’t have a lot of experience in this team and it’s right to ask the players with experience and big talent to give everything.
“I think they’re giving everything but per cent is not enough. We need to ask 120, 130 per cent to have this type of target.
“It will be very important to have people with great talent to lead us until the end and to try to be very close to reach this target.”
Meanwhile, Conte expressed his joy at Christian Eriksen’s return to the Denmark squad.
Eriksen has not played for his country since suffering a cardiac arrest during Euro 2020 in June, but the Brentford midfielder has been called up for forthcoming friendlies against Holland and Serbia.
Conte, who is staying in the same hotel as Eriksen, said: “I am happy for Christian. I am happy for Christian, because to see him again on the pitch, to play from the start, to play two games in a row, also to be involved totally, to play well, and to win with Brentford, it was special for me.
“Because I think we are talking about an important player, but first of all he’s a really good man, a really good person. He and his family deserve to now live a normal situation. I think, that it is important, and I’m very happy for him.
“I wish for him and his family the best… apart from the game we have to play against them.”
Tottenham have no fresh injury problems for the visit to Brighton.
Conte confirmed that his side picked up no new issues from Saturday’s defeat at Old Trafford.
That means Oliver Skipp (groin), Japhet Tanganga (knee) and Ryan Sessegnon (hamstring) remain out.
Kane: Spurs players couldn’t be happier with Conte
Harry Kane has revealed Tottenham’s players “couldn’t be happier” working under Antonio Conte and has vowed to “give the top four a real go” between now and the end of the season.
In an exclusive interview with Sky Sports ahead of Spurs’ trip to Brighton on Wednesday, Kane has echoed Conte’s recent claims that Tottenham’s rebuild is not a quick fix ahead of a crucial season run-in.
“Obviously I still feel like we’re in a process,” he said. “We went two or three years challenging for trophies then we dropped off over the last couple of years. With Antonio, he’s building a culture that he wants to be and wants to put us back in that place.
“The Premier League, it’s such fine lines between challenging or being top four or being sixth, seventh or eighth. Every team is getting better and there are no easy games.
“Of course, the manager is working as hard as he can and the players are working. It’s not a quick fix that happens overnight, it takes time and understanding.
“Of course, he’s mentioned he needs to talk to the club and chairman and to see what direction we need to go as a club.
“From my point of view, the players’ point of view, we can’t speak highly enough of him.”
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