Monday 27 March 2023 12:10 pm

Antonio Conte: Sacked Tottenham Hotspur manager’s record is better than you’d think

Sports Editor

Tottenham Hotspur sacked manager Antonio Conte on Sunday but his record compares favourably against his predecessors

Antonio Conte may have been sacked by Tottenham Hotspur but the Italian departs with the third best record of any manager in the club’s history.

The former Chelsea, Inter Milan and Juventus coach registered the equivalent of 1.78 points per game in his 17 months in North London – statistics bettered only by two predecessors.

Mauricio Pochettino, who made Spurs Champions League regulars and took them all the way to the final, earned 1.84 points per game in his five years in charge.

Perhaps surprisingly, the manager with the best points per game record in Tottenham’s history is Andre Villas-Boas, on 1.91.

The Portuguese led a Gareth Bale-inspired Spurs to their highest ever Premier League points tally of 72 in his only full season in charge, 2012-13.

Spurs missed out on a Champions League place by one point to rivals Arsenal and, following Bale’s world record sale in the summer to Real Madrid, results tailed off and former Chelsea and Porto coach Villas-Boas was fired in December 2013.

Conte, by contrast, got Tottenham back into the Champions League by finishing fourth domestically and pipping Arsenal but failed to build on that in his second year.

He departed on Sunday night following a week of speculation over his future with Spurs sitting fourth in the table, albeit having played more games than most of the teams around them.

“We have 10 Premier League games remaining and we have a fight on our hands for a Champions League place,” said Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy.

“We all need to pull together. Everyone has to step up to ensure the highest possible finish for our club and amazing, loyal supporters.”