ANTONI-WOE
Tottenham finally part company with Antonio Conte as Levy makes no mention of Italian and snubs Mason for interim role
ANTONIO CONTE was finally put out of his misery after leaving Tottenham late last night.
The Italian boss, 53, launched an astonishing attack on his ‘selfish’ Spurs flops and the club’s ‘20 years’ of underachieving in a ten-minute rant after the 3-3 draw at Southampton nine days ago.
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And Tottenham, fourth in the Premier League, announced at 10.20pm that they had parted company with Conte by ‘mutual agreement’ after 16 months in charge.
Chairman Daniel Levy has put Conte’s right-man Cristian Stellini in caretaker charge until the end of the season.
Conte will reportedly walk away with a staggering £15m payout - his annual salary.
But even if Spurs do not pay him a full year's wage, they will still be made to hand him the remainder of his contract which equates to around £4m.
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are reporting Levy made the decision to get rid of Conte last week but that it took until Saturday evening to reach an agreement.
A major hurdle to overcome before parting ways was the bonus the Italian could receive if Spurs qualify for the Champions League.
It comes ahead of a huge period of fixtures against the likes of Brighton, Newcastle, Manchester United and Liverpool.
Levy said: “We have 10 Premier League games remaining and we have a fight on our hands for a Champions League place.
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“We all need to pull together. Everyone has to step up to ensure the highest possible finish for our club and amazing, loyal supporters.”
Levy did not reference Conte directly in the club statement with Spurs acknowledging their former boss in 40 words.
It read: “We can announce that head coach Antonio Conte has left the club by mutual agreement. We achieved Champions League qualification in Antonio’s first season at the club.
“We thank Antonio for his contribution and wish him well for the future.”
Stellini will be assisted by ex-Tottenham midfielder Ryan Mason with their first match in charge away at Everton on April 3.
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The temporary appointments hint that the club will park their search for a permanent successor to Conte until the summer.
Julian Nagelsmann, last week sacked by Bayern Munich, former chief Mauricio Pochettino, Marco Silva, Ange Postecoglou and Roberto De Zerbi are among those in the frame.
Conte took over from Nuno Espirito Santo in November 2021, with his first league match also against the Toffees, and he snatched fourth place on the final day of last season.
But he never seemed truly happy with the ambition of the club and hit out at the mentality of his squad in that unforgettable final media session at St Mary’s after his team had surrendered a 3-1 lead.
He also had a traumatic year, losing three close friends in Gian Piero Ventrone - Spurs’ beloved fitness coach - Sinisa Mihaljovic and Gianluca Vialli, while he missed five games recently after gallbladder surgery.
Stellini, 48, took charge for those fixtures and for the impressive 2-1 win at Marseille in the Champions League in November, when Conte was serving a touchline ban.
Tottenham are out of all the cup competitions with defeats to Championship outfit Sheffield United in the FA Cup, Nottingham Forest in the League Cup and AC Milan in the Champions League, extending their trophy drought to over 15 years without any silverware.
The former defender, who assisted Conte at Inter Milan as well, was at the helm for famous wins over Manchester City and Chelsea too - though always gave the credit to his stricken boss.
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Mason, 31, who was first-team coach, was not asked to take caretaker charge this time - unlike when Jose Mourinho was sacked two years ago.
Spurs occupy the final Champions League spot, two points ahead of Newcastle who have two games in hand.
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