Ndombele earns Tottenham chance as Conte praises ‘commitment’

The Spurs midfielder is set to feature against Morecambe in the FA Cup.

Tottenham boss Antonio Conte is impressed with Tanguy Ndombele’s attitude and said the Frenchman will get the chance to impress in the FA Cup clash with Morecambe on Sunday.

The Italian had previously said Ndombele, who is the club’s record signing, had to buy more into the team ethic, having barely used him in the first two months of his time in charge.

Things looked bleak for the former Lyon man last week when Conte was asked to explain more about Ndombele’s best role in the team and chose to reply only with: “He’s a midfielder.”

But things look to be improving and Conte said he is likely to play against the League One Shrimps.

“Tanguy is showing a good commitment, a good attitude in training sessions,” Conte said.

“He has had an opportunity, a chance against Liverpool and then the second half against Chelsea.

“Probably he could play on Sunday in the FA Cup.

“I think every game is a good opportunity for every player that is not playing so much in the last period to show me that they deserve more consideration.”

Conte has not been shy in going public with how he views the situation he has inherited at Tottenham.

He said Spurs were “incomparable” to Chelsea after their Carabao Cup loss in midweek and said they were a “middle” team who had struggled in all eight of their Premier League games under him.

But he does not want to tell his players “good lies” and only plans to deal in the truth.

“My relationship with my team, my players is based on the truth and not only here but also in the past because when I was a player, I hate the coach that tells me good lies to keep me calm and to stay relaxed and in a good relationship,” he said.

“If you want to improve it is important for the player to listen every time [to] the truth and I think my players know very well what I think about the situation.

“After the game against Chelsea I was very clear. I said my vision and I said the truth.

“We have space for improvement and we started to analyse the game against Chelsea and for sure it will be a good example for us to improve. Not only the tactical aspect but also the mentality.

“This type of game needs much more commitment, not only tactically and physically but also mentally, and I think we can use this game to improve in other aspects that the people can see outside.

“After a loss you can learn more than after a win. After a defeat you can learn more and with my players they know very well that I’ll tell them always the truth because with the truth you can improve, with good lies I think that you don’t have a long time to live.”