Antonio Conte started with an apology. The Tottenham manager was an hour late for his unveiling on Friday and he wanted his Zoom guests to know that it was because a video analysis session had overrun.
“I’m sorry,” Conte said, steely-eyed and stony-faced. But he wasn’t, really, because his new club is in a mess, he has joined mid-season, with no proper run at instilling his philosophy, and the time is ridiculously tight.
It is rare that a new manager has his presentation to the media after his first game, Conte having arrived on Tuesday to succeed Nuno Espírito Santo, waited for his work permit until Thursday morning and gone straight into the Europa Conference League home tie against Vitesse that night. Af…