Son Heung-min has not scored any goals since the beginning of the season. 6 months ago, at a time when he was still at his peak, the Korean striker received absolute trust from coach Conte. At that time, the Tottenham captain emphasized that it would be crazy to remove Son from the squad.
However, things are now different, mostly because Son's form is inexplicable decline. Spurs are currently preparing for the next round of the Champions League group stage against Sporting Lisbon. According to Conte, Son needs to sweat more on the training ground to regain his original class as quickly as possible.
Son is now considered a him-and-man song as Spurs are still unbeaten since the beginning of the tournament in all competitions. Even when he was substituted, Son showed disagreement. No other choice, a goal at this time will be a very good psychological release for the Korean star.
Conte now has Richarlison and before that Dejan Kulusevski. A few years ago, Tottenham always lived on the understanding between Son and Harry Kane in attack, but now, that is no longer necessary.
Or in other words, Conte has more options if Son and Kane can't catch the air together anymore. In Conte's eyes, Son is still important but he wants to see a change from this striker.
"I think that when each of us wants to build something important with the greatest ambition, wants to fight and win, old habits are something that needs to change. Otherwise, everything is going as it is, which means you do not have enough ambition.
Because of this principle, all players in the team must comply with personnel rotation, especially in the upper line. Currently, Tottenham has 4 attacking stars who are considered the main factor. It was really difficult for me to eliminate one of these four players but I had to make a decision to bring the best result for the team.
Sometimes, you need to rest and cannot get into matches with that intensity. Even if he only plays for about 20 - 30 minutes then on the field to save energy for the following matches.
I am here to change the old habits of this club, which are the things that have been imprinted on the players throughout the previous period. You always try to satisfy the players but there is no denying that a big club must be a team with depth. Tottenham don't have that squad yet, so they are all building up in that way.
For that reason, it should be considered normal for me to eliminate 1 of 4 players in matches. Players should also think that is good for a coach with so many options. I know every coach likes this.
There will be 3 people starting and 1 person always ready to start from the bench. This is a good way, like Tottenham did in the match against Marseille last week. With the score at 0-0, I put Kulusevski on the pitch and everything has improved" - Conte shared.
