Antonio Conte is building a squad at Tottenham that may finally be able to end the club's long wait for silverware, former striker Robbie Keane has told Stats Perform.
Spurs pulled off quite a coup by appointing Conte as their head coach last November after bringing an early end to Nuno Espirito Santo's tenure.
The north London side were eighth in the Premier League when Conte took over, yet a fine second half to the campaign saw them pip fierce rivals Arsenal to fourth place.
Indeed, the 71 points Tottenham accrued in the 2021-22 campaign made up a tally they have bettered in only three previous Premier League seasons (86 in 2016-17, 77 in 2017-18 and 72 in 2012-13).
Guiding Spurs back into the Champions League was described as "being a trophy" for Conte, but actual silverware has eluded the club since winning the EFL Cup in 2008.
Conte has already started to strengthen ahead of the 2022-23 season, with experienced winger Ivan Perisic – a league winner in Germany and Italy – set to join from Inter on July 1.
Other big names have also been linked, and Keane, who spent eight and a half years with Tottenham across two spells, believes the new arrivals can help bring trophies to the club.
"I think what he's doing is he's trying to get the business in early," Keane said at a media day ahead of his participation in Sunday's Soccer Aid charity match.
"He's already brought in Perisic from Inter, a player who has a winning mentality. He's obviously won things.
"I think that's what Conte wants to do. He wants to bring people in who've already been there and done it, because a lot of them Tottenham players haven't won anything.
"So to bring someone like him in, and I'm sure they'll do more business in the next month or so."
Conte is no stranger to winning major honours as a manager, including in his previous stint in England when he claimed the Premier League title and FA Cup with Chelsea.
"Conte's a winner. He has a winning mentality and there's no question that he'll certainly bring that," Keane added.
"Tottenham next year have to do something, they have to win the FA Cup, EFL Cup or the Champions League. I think the Premier League might be a step too far.
"I think if they bring three or four players in, they might be might have a chance, but I think Liverpool and Manchester City are just so far ahead at the moment.
"But to win the FA Cup, EFL Cup, I think that's a step in the right direction, and hopefully, again, finishing in the top four."
All focus at Tottenham this window is on adding to the squad, which is in contrast to 12 months ago when Harry Kane's possible departure dominated headlines.
The England international has appeared more settled since Conte's arrival and finished the 2021-22 campaign strongly with five goals in Tottenham's final five Premier League games.
That took Kane's tally to 17 for the campaign in the top flight, which is his joint-lowest return in the competition in his eight seasons as a regular starter, alongside 2018-19.
He was outscored by team-mate Son Heung-min, who, despite finishing as the league's joint-top scorer alongside Mohamed Salah, was not included in the PFA Team of the Year.
Son was also not included on the list of nominees for the Players' Player of the Year award, much to the surprise of Keane.
"Not to even be nominated is bizarre," Keane said. "For me, he's one of the best players in the Premier League.
"What he and Kane are doing together at Tottenham is incredible.
"I've obviously known Harry since he was a kid, so I taught him! He's a top player, and he's continued to score goals like he always does. "
Carsley casts the credit to England's players after debut win
Lee Carsley insisted his England players "have to take all of the credit" after winning his debut match as England manager.
Interim boss Carsley oversaw a 2-0 victory over the Republic of Ireland in their Nations League fixture at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
It marked the first time Ireland have lost a home match against England since May 1964.
The former England Under-21s manager, however, was keen to credit his players after first-half goals from Jack Grealish and Declan Rice saw England over the line.
"The lads have to take a lot of credit, all of the credit. I think we've showed we've got some real talent and we can be really pleased with the clean sheet as well," he told ITV.
"I thought it was good in parts. You've seen some of the things we've tried to do."
Carsley, who represented Ireland as a player, was vindicated in recalling Grealish after his omission from the Euros squad in the summer as the Manchester City playmaker doubled the lead in the 26th minute.
"I thought they [Rice and Grealish] took their goals really well. Really well-worked moves and brilliant finishes. I think, moving forward, they can both add a lot more goals to their game," he said.
"Jack definitely doesn't have anything to prove to us, we can see his quality, but today will have done him the world of good, getting another goal for England and hopefully he can continue that form."
The new England manager also opted to start Anthony Gordon on the left wing after the Newcastle United winger had struggled for minutes on the pitch under Gareth Southgate at Euro 2024.
"On a really dry sticky pitch, it's not ideal for dribblers but I thought Anthony was a real threat. He's carried on his form from last season and he looks a really dangerous player," enthused Carsley of Gordon, who got all three of his shots on target and played two key passes.
The manager played his part in ending Ireland's four-game unbeaten run against the Three Lions on home soil (W1 D3), though England could have made their dominance pay more.
"I think you've got to give Ireland credit as well, they are very resilient, they closed the gaps and our space maybe became a bit wider [in the second half]," reflected Carsley.
"We found it a little bit more difficult to get through them but at 2-0 we were quite comfortable."
Republic of Ireland 0-2 England: Rice and Grealish hand Carsley winning start
Lee Carsley made a winning start to his England tenure with a comfortable 2-0 win over the Republic of Ireland in the Nations League, helped by two players who previously represented the hosts.
Both goals came in the first half on Saturday, with Declan Rice's powerful finish followed up by Jack Grealish's sweeping effort to hand England their first win in Dublin in over 60 years.
Jayson Molumby's early chance offered the visitors a warning, but Harry Kane headed over as Carsley's team swiftly took control.
The England captain, now one shy of his 100th Three Lions cap, was denied by Caoimhin Kelleher moments later inside the box after a fast break from an Ireland free-kick.
But England had the lead after 11 minutes. Having made three senior appearances for Ireland, Rice pledged his international future to the Three Lions in 2019, and it was the Arsenal midfielder who opened the scoring with an emphatic finish into the roof of the net.
Rice turned provider for another who switched their international allegiance, as Grealish rounded off a fine move to double England's advantage 15 minutes later.
Ireland improved after the interval, though rarely came close to truly testing Jordan Pickford.
Bukayo Saka went close to adding further gloss to an impressive display in added time, only to see his effort repelled by Kelleher with substitute Eberechi Eze firing over on the rebound.
Data Debrief: Rice and Grealish haunt Ireland
In a game where all the focus was placed on former Ireland international Carsley, it would be two of the Republic's former hopes that stole the headlines in Dublin.
Rice's goal at the Aviva Stadium came six years and 97 days after making his only previous appearance there for Ireland against the United States in June 2018.
He completed 88 of his 93 passes and ended with an accuracy rate of 94.6%, a total only bettered by Pickford (96.3%) of those that started the game.
Grealish, meanwhile, netted his third goal for England, and his first as a starter. While he was on the pitch, no England player won more fouls (four) or created more chances (two) than him.
Hayes: Men's game still not ready for female coach
Emma Hayes believes men's football is still not ready for the prospect of female coaches, saying there is much work to be done to bring about true equality in the game.
Hayes won seven Women's Super League titles during a glittering 12-year spell in charge of Chelsea before leaving to take charge of the United States in May.
Like England coach Sarina Wiegman, Hayes has sometimes been suggested as somebody who could make the transition from the women's game to men's football, but no female coach has ever taken charge of a team in England's top four tiers on a permanent basis.
Forest Green Rovers made Hannah Dingley caretaker manager last year while in the fourth tier, only to overlook her and go through three permanent bosses – including former Watford striker Troy Deeney – as they dropped out of the Football League.
Speaking during an appearance on the Today programme on BBC, Hayes said barriers remain in place to prevent women succeeding in the men's game.
"I think you need to get more owners in to ask them that question, because they're the people you have to ask that question to. I'm not the one in charge of that," Hayes said.
Asked whether club owners are ready to appoint a female coach, Hayes said: "Of course they're not, otherwise it would have happened by now.
"I've said this a million times over – you can find a female pilot, a female doctor, a female lawyer, a female banker, but you can't find a female coach working in the men's game, leading men.
"It just shows you how much work there is to be done."
Hayes has been nominated for the Women's Coach of the Year prize at the Ballon d'Or awards ceremony, which will take place on October 28.
Wiegman, Filipa Patao, Arthur Elias, Jonatan Giraldez and Hayes' Chelsea successor Sonia Bompastor are also in the running.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
