Antonio Conte slams Harry Kane's disallowed goal but once again calls on Tottenham hierarchy to deliver on transfers

Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte said it was ‘incredible’ to see Harry Kane’s goal being ruled out against Chelsea in their Premier League match on Sunday (January 23).

Spurs thought they had the lead in the first half at Stamford Bridge when Kane slotted home from close range. However, the referee blew the whistle immediately to stop the play.

Replays showed that Kane had pushed Chelsea defender Thiago Silva in the build-up. But Conte felt the contact was minimal and the goal should have stood.

“The referee disallowed a goal and I was very clear with him because I think it’s best sometimes it’s best to tell the referee in a polite way. To see this type of goal disallowed in England is incredible.”

Conte also praised his players for the effort they put in. Spurs have also played Chelsea twice in the Carabao Cup semis in recent times and lost those games too.

However, he did also make a point to address the fact that Spurs need players coming in if they are to compete.

“I think that in the three games against Chelsea I think today was for me, for the effort in the game, I liked it maybe and also the second half in the second leg of the Carabao Cup we played a good game.

“We are improving to play against Chelsea but in this moment it’s very difficult to face this type of squad, not team, because they don’t have 11 players, they have 22 or 23 players of an important level.

“This is not the right moment to speak in front of media. The club knows very well what I think and the time we need to close this gap, because it does not take one transfer window to close the gap.”

Gap between Spurs and others ‘very, very big’ – Antonio Conte

Conte reiterated that the gap between Spurs and clubs like Chelsea is ‘very, very big’. And the Italian believes it will take the club many years to catch up.

“I think in the last few years, this gap became very, very big and it’s not simple to find a solution. For this reason, I am only focused on the players who work until the end.

“We will see, we have four months to give everything, but if we think we can solve the situation in the transfer market, it is not reality.

“You need many years, for sure we can start and we have to start, because in the last few years the level of the squad decreased instead of improving.”