Djed Spence admits Antonio Conte ‘wasn’t happy with anything’ he did at Tottenham

Djed Spence has opened up about the struggles he had under Antonio Conte, explaining why the Italian shattered his confidence following his switch to Tottenham from Nottingham Forest.

Spence’s rise this season has very few parallels, with the full-back going from a forgotten man to one of the first names on the teamsheet in a matter of just months.

In fact, the 24-year-old has been in such sublime form that he has good reason to feel aggrieved at being left out of the England squad by Thomas Tuchel.

Ange Postecoglou has praised the attitude that Spence has shown this season, with the Australian insisting that there is a lot more to come from the full-back.

Djed Spence opens up on working with Antonio Conte

However, one cannot say the same thing about Postecoglou’s predecessor, with Antonio Conte unwilling to give the former Middlesbrough man any opportunities.

In fact, Conte even labelled Djed Spence a “club signing” soon after the right-back’s switch from the Riverside Stadium to Tottenham back in 2023.

When asked if working with the Italian was difficult, Spence said on Rio Ferdinand Presents: “Oh, yeah, most definitely. I felt like whatever I did, I couldn’t…that man wasn’t happy about anything, man.

“Honestly, yeah. Even if you do the right things, ‘Did I do the right thing?’ because he’s not a really complimenting guy.

“I think it gets to a point where you don’t even need validation from a coach, you know if you’re doing well or not in your head.

“Of course, it’s nice to know that a manager…’Oh, you’ve done well today or you’re doing well’ but I think you get to a certain time where you know if you’re doing well or not. It’s just down to the manager if he wants to see it or not.”

Spence admits Conte shattered his Tottenham confidence

The Tottenham defender confessed that Conte’s public admission about not wanting him was difficult to take and left him completely devoid of any confidence. Spence even admitted to wondering what he was doing at Spurs if he was not wanted by the manager.

Djed Spence added: “It wasn’t a nice feeling, of course. Especially, I was coming to the club on a high [from Nottingham Forest], I was confident, I was buzzing, I had a great season, just won promotion from my club and when I came in, I just ran into a brick wall really and yeah, I think, it shattered my confidence as well really, obviously, I’m young as well so it’s not nice to hear.

“My agent at the time, he was saying to me, ‘No, don’t worry about this, we’ve clarified’…yeah, I know I was rubbish at the time but yeah, it wasn’t a nice thing really. I was even going into the club like, ‘What am I doing really?, you know what I mean?”

READ MORE: Djed Spence pulls Ange Postecoglou away from fan confrontation after Tottenham defeat

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