Antonio Conte believes it would be for the best if Tottenham could rotate Son Heung-min rather than have the superstar forward play in every match.
Son has made at least 40 appearances in all competitions in each of his seven full seasons at Spurs, while only in his first campaign in England did he start fewer than 30 matches.
This term, the South Korea attacker has started all seven games for his club, although he is yet to score and has supplied only a single assist.
With Richarlison signed in the close season, following the January arrival of Dejan Kulusevski, Conte appears to now have the requisite depth to leave Son out of his team given this sub-par form.
The Tottenham coach could do so at Sporting CP in the Champions League on Tuesday, although the postponement of the weekend's game against Manchester City – due to the death of Queen Elizabeth II – has given his team more time to recover.
Attempting to fit Son, Richarlison, Kulusevski and Harry Kane into the same XI, Conte said: "The postponed game allows me to make a different decision.
"Against Man City, I would have played with certain players, but now I change things in my mind."
However, pushed on the possibility of Son being left out at some stage, the coach replied: "I think when you try to build something important, with ambition and try to be competitive and win, you have to change old habits – otherwise you stay in balance and you don't want to have ambition.
"For this reason, all the players have to accept that rotation is part of this aspect. We have four players [up front], and it's very difficult right now to drop one.
"I have to take the best decision, sometimes for the players. Sometimes it's better to come in for 20, 30 minutes for them.
"I'm here to change the habit. The habit was that the players were used to playing all the time. Big clubs have a big squad.
"At the moment, we don't have a big squad, but we have just started this process."
Chelsea quartet left at home as Bompastor rotates squad for Celtic clash
Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor has said that they will be without four key players ahead of their Champions League game away to Celtic on Wednesday.
Bompastor confirmed that Millie Bright, Mayra Ramirez, Sjoeke Nusken and Kadeisha Buchanan have not travelled to Scotland for their encounter at Celtic Park.
The Blues know a victory will seal their progression to the knockout stages, though have decided to rest a few of their key players during a hectic fixture schedule.
Their trip to Scotland will be the second of three matches inside seven days in all competitions for Bompastor's side and, as a result, she has decided to rotate her squad.
"The squad is in a good place and we have a good dynamic and we are full of confidence," she told a press conference
"We have been playing a lot of games and this week we play three games so it’s important to manage players as individuals.
“We have some players who didn’t travel for this game. Kadeisha Buchanan, Millie Bright, Sjoeke Nusken and Mayra Ramirez didn’t travel."
Chelsea come into the game with a 100% record in all competitions under Bompastor, including two wins from two against Real Madrid and Twente in the Champions League.
And they will be confident of maintaining their perfect run, having lost just one of their previous 20 group stage matches in the competition (W14 D5) and are unbeaten across their last 14 (W11 D3).
“As you know, Chelsea have a good squad with quality and a good team will start the game and be competitive because we want to finish first in this group," she said.
Their early-season form has them second in the Women's Super League and top of their Champions League group, at least three points ahead of any other team.
Despite resting players, Bompastor reassured people that it was Chelsea's ambition to fight on all fronts.
“The Champions League is important and we have ambition and we want to make sure we finish first in the group," she said.
“We have ambitions and if we want to go for all the competitions then you need to beat every team.
“It will start again in March and that’s when the really important games start, but right now we are focused on the group stage.”
Pereira replaces Amorim as Sporting head coach
Sporting CP have confirmed Joao Pereira as the club's new head coach following Ruben Amorim's departure to Manchester United.
Pereira, who made 154 appearances across three different spells with Sporting, has put pen to paper on a deal that runs through until 2027 with the Primeira Liga champions.
The 40-year-old also appeared five times under Amorim during the 2020-21 season, a campaign that saw Sporting claim their first top-flight title in 19 years.
Pereira has previously managed Sporting's Under-23 side, taking charge of 53 games and winning 20 of those (D17 L16), averaging 1.45 points per match.
He most recently took charge of Sporting's B team, but oversaw just 11 matches, and he is relishing the opportunity of leading the club after the international break.
"As a player, Sporting gave me a lot, allowing me to play for the national team, join one of the best leagues in the world and return home twice," Pereira said.
"I only repaid them with a Super Cup and a national championship, which felt more like their gift to me.
"That’s something I regret, so as a coach I’d like to repay them with more titles because Sporting deserve it.
"If I had doubts and thought things might go wrong, I wouldn’t be here. It hasn’t even crossed my mind that it could go poorly.
"I know we’ll face challenges, but I believe it will go well."
But Pereira has a tough act to follow, with Amorim ending his glittering stint with the club on a high after a 4-2 win over Braga on Sunday.
Amorim won 164 of his 231 games in charge of Sporting, averaging a win percentage of 71%, which is a club record.
During his time in charge, only Manchester City (127) won more matches than his Sporting team (122) across Europe's top 10 leagues.
"Ruben leaves behind a legacy, and that legacy isn’t only in titles, victories, and records but also in the unity he built among the Sporting family," Pereira added.
"I know this brings great responsibility, but that responsibility comes hand-in-hand with a strong ambition and motivation to continue making Sporting a winning club with a bright future.”
Pereira's first assignment will come in the Taca de Portugal against fourth-tier side Amarante on November 22, before welcoming Arsenal to the Estadio Jose Alvalade in the Champions League five days later.
Conte fumes at VAR after 1-1 draw with Inter
Antonio Conte was frustrated that VAR did not reverse a penalty decision against Napoli as they played out a 1-1 draw with Inter on Sunday.
Hakan Calhanoglu failed to convert the spot kick in question late in the game, with the Turkish international having equalised for the hosts after Scott McTominay's opener.
Despite the decision not affecting the result in the end, Conte criticised VAR for not overruling the referee's decision to penalise Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa for a foul on Denzel Dumfries.
"Can they [VAR] only intervene when it suits them? A decision from the referee like this can transform a match and VAR cannot do anything about it," Conte told DAZN.
"Either VAR is there to correct errors or it is not. If there is an error, it has to intervene. It really angers me, but it does to all coaches. It has to intervene if there is a mistake.
"If there is VAR, it must be used to correct errors or show the referee situations that he did not see. If it's a clear error, and it was, then why should [referee Maurizio] Mariani be allowed to just do that."
Despite his frustration with refereeing decisions, Conte was satisfied with his team's performance, as they held strong against a spirited second-half display from the Italian champions.
"I said that we would not come here to just be sparring partners against the strongest squad in Serie A, so it was important for us to face them with strength, character, accepting duels all over the field," he said.
"On that score, I am very satisfied. It was not easy to play here. We all know that we are making improvements and working hard, otherwise, you don't come to San Siro twice and also against Juventus without defeat.
"The lads are proving themselves, though, of course, we could've done much, much more in terms of quality today. There were too many errors, a lot of technical errors, but I am sure there will be further improvements."
Napoli's point ensured they stayed top of Serie A heading into the international break, moving them to 26 points in what is shaping up to be a tight title race. Conte's side sit one point clear of Atalanta, Fiorentina, Inter and Lazio.
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