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Cristian Stellini challenges Tottenham’s ‘personality’ after Everton draw.
After a late meltdown against relegation-threatened Everton on Monday, Tottenham interim manager Cristian Stellini sent a message to his team, telling them they must develop their “personality.”
Harry Kane’s penalty had given Spurs a 1-0 lead, but Lucas Moura’s harsh foul on Michael Keane resulted in him receiving a straight red card. Keane got up and produced a beautiful long-range goal in stoppage time to save a draw for his team.
Antonio Conte eventually left the club after Spurs’ last failure against Southampton, as the Italian coach frequently questioned the group’s attitude and capacity to handle pressure.
Conte may be gone, but the message from Stellini remains the same.
“[Personality] is something we have to improve,” he told the BBC Sport : It’s something we have to work on. It’s not an easy thing to do because obviously you need time to do it. It’s a long process but we have to continue the process we had before.
“We have to respect the plan. The game is tough because the opponent has energy.”
Stellini continued: “I enjoyed the moment we started the game. We played a good game because we challenged them at the same level of strength. We play a good game, we were compact, we know it is not easy to come here.
“We have to respect them because they are strong in some aspects like set pieces and long balls. We did a good job, and we had some chances to score. We were unlucky not to do it. The only problem was when we play 11 vs 10. In that moment, we go 1-0 and we have to control the game much better with the ball.
“That was the expectation and the plan. But after the second red card, the game changed, and they found an amazing goal.
“It was important because with 11 men probably the game finishes differently.
“The boost changed completely. After the goal, the crowd went crazy. You need personality to play in this type of stadium, in this type of moment. We have to improve in the way we respect the opponent and when the game changes, we have to fight.”