Antonio Conte: Tottenham know exactly how I feel about my future

Antonio Conte has fuelled suggestions he will walk away from the Tottenham job at the end of the season.

Conte is expected to leave the club this summer when his contract expires, though sections of the fanbase feel that another trophyless season means he deserves to be sacked before he can walk.

Tottenham were knocked out of the Champions League by AC Milan on Wednesday night, with a drab goalless draw ensuring the Italian champions reached the quarter-finals at Spurs’ expense.

Asked after the game for an update on his future, Conte said: “Tottenham know very well my thoughts.”

The manager will meet with Daniel Levy and the board at the end of the season to decide on continuing or parting ways. The club hold an option to extend the manager’s contract by a year, though it remains unclear if there is willing to do so.

“This is not the right day to speak about my future,” Conte told reporters. “I have a contract with Tottenham. Tottenham know very well my thoughts: that at the end of the season, we will meet and then we will make a decision.”

He added: “The situation is very clear. I always say the same things: we need time and patience. We don’t have solid foundations to fight and win.

Spurs’ season is now resigned to hopes of achieving a top-four spot, with the club having crashed out of the FA Cup to Championship side Sheffield United and now the Champions League to Milan in the space of a week.

“The game [against Sheffield United] in the FA Cup was really, really bad,” he said. “The players know very well. We missed a big chance to fight for a trophy. Today, in this type of game, there is a big difference between the opponents.

“Today we played against Milan who last year won the league in Italy. We are talking about. A big team with a big story.

“We are out from the FA Cup and out from the Champions League. We cannot invent a win. We are working to try to improve, to go step by step. If someone thinks that one day, one year you [suddenly] start to win, it’s difficult. You need time. I don’t like to lose but it can happen.”