Antonio Conte is ready to "die" for Tottenham until the end of the season but knows fans have run out of patience with him.
The pressure on Conte intensified after Spurs crashed out of the Champions League following a drab goalless draw with Milan on Wednesday.
Tottenham were beaten 1-0 in the first leg at San Siro and could not mount a fightback, bowing out at the round-of-16 stage to dash hopes of ending their 15-year trophy drought.
The London club have lost seven of their 15 games this year and although they occupy fourth place in the Premier League, Liverpool and Newcastle United are hot on their heels.
Conte, who was appointed as head coach in November 2021, is only under contract until the end of June and although it appears unlikely he will remain in the role, the Italian will continue to give his all.
He said on Friday: "You know my opinion and my desire. I've said to you a lot of times and during the press conference that the situation I have found - we are far [away from being able] to aspire to be competitive and try to win.
"For a long time I've said we need time, we need patience and I see that here the environment has no patience, or maybe the environment doesn't want to understand the reality.
"If no one wants to understand this and for sure I don't speak about my future because the club knows very well which is my situation, my thoughts. We can't do miracles. If I have become to people a target then no, I'm not this person. The reality is this.
"We need time and patience. I understood that here the patience finished for the fans, for the environment and then we'll see what happens in the future.
"Until the end, I am ready to die for this club, but then we'll see because I'm not so stupid to continue to kill myself."
He added: "You know with the club we signed a contract, a strange contract one-year-and-a-half. Usually you sign for three years, but I think it was for the club and for myself to see the situation.
"For the club to understand my personality, my capacity as a coach and for me - from my side it was the same. To understand if we were on the same page.
"Now after one year and a half, the club knows me, I know the club and it is clear this situation. We have to finish the season and then we will see.
"The club knows very well my thoughts. I am ready to die for this club until the end of the season."
Tottenham will attempt to respond to their Champions League heartbreak by beating Nottingham Forest at home on Saturday.
On this day in 2019: Liverpool beat Tottenham to clinch Champions League
Liverpool claimed their sixth European Cup after a 2-0 victory over Tottenham in the Champions League final in Madrid, on this day in 2019.
Jurgen Klopp’s men returned to the big stage 12 months after they had lost 3-1 to Real Madrid in the 2018 final in Kiev, determined to go one better.
They did so still reflecting on a remarkable Premier League season during which they had finished on 97 points, yet still narrowly missed out on the title to Manchester City.
The intervening three weeks had given them time to reflect upon on a near miss, but also to prepare for their showdown with Spurs after both had negotiated a path to Madrid in thrilling fashion.
Liverpool had looked to be heading out of the competition after the first leg of their semi-final when they went down 3-0 in Barcelona, but two goals each from Divock Origi and Georginio Wijnaldum on a memorable night at Anfield rekindled their hopes.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side too needed something special to make it to the final when, with just 35 minutes of their last-four tie against Ajax remaining, they trailed 3-0 on aggregate in Amsterdam only for Lucas Moura to plunder a hat-trick which took them through on away goals.
The scene was set for a classic in Spain, although while the opening was explosive, the game failed to live up to expectations.
The die was cast within 22 seconds of kick-off when Moussa Sissoko was adjudged to have handled Sadio Mane’s cross and referee Damir Skomina pointed to the spot.
Mohamed Salah dispatched the resulting penalty past goalkeeper Hugo Lloris and although Klopp’s first trophy as Reds boss was not secured until substitute Origi struck three minutes from time, Spurs never really looked like getting back into the game.
The German, who had lost his previous six cup finals, said: “I only want to enjoy that we won it. All the rest is not important.
“I feel mostly relieved, to be honest. Relieved for my family because they are pretty close to me, as you can imagine.
“Six times we always flew on holiday with a silver medal. That doesn’t feel too cool.”
Sarina Wiegman frustrated over timing of players being released for World Cup
Sarina Wiegman has expressed her frustration over the uncertainty surrounding England’s World Cup preparations as talks continue regarding the timing of players being released for duty ahead of the tournament.
The showpiece in Australia and New Zealand gets under way on July 20, and in mid-May, the European Club Association and FIFA announced they had reached an agreement establishing a non-mandatory release period of June 23-29.
The ECA and FIFA said that timeframe, to act as a guideline for clubs and national associations with exact dates to be agreed between them, “strikes the all-important balance between players having sufficient rest while allowing adequate time to prepare for the World Cup”.
The plan for England had been to start a pre-tournament camp on June 19, and boss Wiegman, who named her 23-player squad for the World Cup on Wednesday, said: “Of course that’s frustrating because we have all our plans, we thought we were all set and then like a month ago, all of a sudden, things change.
“We didn’t expect that, and it’s so late. I do understand, it’s about the calendar. It’s really hard. It’s about players having rest. We have to collaborate and talk to each other to try to solve that.
“But now in a short time like this, we’re all set and a month before we start, it all changes. That’s frustrating and it’s hard too because I think this is not the time to do this. It’s the time to do that later and solve it after this tournament.”
Wiegman was asked specifically about midfielder Georgia Stanway, who plays for Bayern Munich, and said: “I still hope we negotiate. At this point it’s hard but we’re trying to get the conversation going again.”
The Dutchwoman said the June 19 plan had been in place since last November, adding: “When we came to these plans, of course we have our principles, the knowledge, the expertise and experience, so we made the plan starting the 19th (of June).
“We spoke about that with the captains’ group, then with the players. We are in contact with clubs now and it’s very constructive but it’s not finalised yet.
“When you go to a World Cup, it’s the highest level, the most density, volume, so you have to be at your highest level.
“We also know that if you have more than two weeks’ rest, which if you would start later on you would have 26 days of no football, that’s not good for the preparation for the players, for the welfare of players that wouldn’t be good. So that’s why we want to start on June 19.
“It’s not only the physiology, it’s also the decision-making in football and getting really ready to start when we start on the 22nd (of July v Haiti).
“And knowing we’re going to the other side of the world, that takes a couple of days too. It’s two days of travelling, you can’t start training straight away because we first have to beat the jet-lag, so we really need that time to get prepared, so I just hope that we keep going with the good conversations and we can solve this.”
England are due to fly to Australia on July 5, and Wiegman also said regarding a warm-up fixture prior to that date: “The reason why we can’t tell you anything about that has to do with when we can start.
“If we start on June 19 we have enough days to get ready for such a game, but if we start later then you have too short a time to get ready for a fixture.”
Youri Tielemans confirms Leicester exit
Youri Tielemans has announced that he is leaving Leicester.
The 26-year-old joined the Foxes from Monaco on loan in 2019 before signing a permanent deal on a four-year contract.
Tielemans is out of contract this summer and his departure comes after Leicester were relegated from the Premier League on the final day of the season on Sunday.
Their relegation came just seven years after being crowned Premier League champions and two seasons since winning the FA Cup against Chelsea, where Tielemans scored a stunning goal to seal victory.
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“Dear Leicester fans, after four and a half special years and with a lot of gratitude I’m bidding farewell to this incredible club,” the Belgium international said in a video on Instagram.
“From the first day I set foot on this ground, your warmth and passion embraced me.
“Victory and triumph, love, hope and even defeat, we’ve shared many special moments together.
“I am forever grateful for your unwavering support, thank you to Khun Top, the board, the staff, the players and fans for having given me and my family a home.
“This is not a goodbye, but a heartfelt farewell. With pride, love and eternal gratitude, Youri Tielemans.”
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