Tottenham handed ‘massive boost’ in top-four battle with Man Utd and Liverpool

Tottenham have welcomed Antonio Conte back to the fold as they look to kick on in the race for a top four spot.

Spurs have struggled for consistency this season, but they are still holding on to a top-four spot despite losing to Wolves over the weekend. But they have no more room left to spare, with Liverpool now within three points with a game in hand after their stunning win over Manchester United on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Tottenham are within four points of United in third, but the Red Devils also have a game in hand still to play. And so it’s almost perfect timing for Spurs to get their head coach back on the sidelines, and indeed back in and around the training ground.

Conte has missed significant time this season with abdominal issues, and his most recent absence was due to the Italian requiring an operation to remove his gallbladder. But Tottenham have now confirmed that Conte is back in what will be seen as a huge boost to their top four hopes.

Assistant head coach Cristian Stellini has been overseeing first team duties over recent weeks, and speaking after the weekend’s defeat to Wolves, he said: “Antonio will be a massive boost for us from tomorrow until the end of the season. It is important that Antonio is back.

“We want to have him back with a different result but the team show to Antonio it is alive. They want to win, they want to control the game, they want to dominate the game and this is important I think.”

Conte led Tottenham to a top-four finish last season, holding off pressure from Arsenal until the very end, and he will be hoping to repeat that feat now that he is back with his team.