When Tottenham host West Ham in north London on Sunday afternoon, Christian Stellini will once again be the main man in the dugout.
Earlier this week, it was announced that Tottenham manager Antonio Conte would remain in Italy – following the 1-0 defeat by AC Milan in the Champions League – following a post-operative check-up following his recent gallbladder surgery.
As a result, his assistant and compatriot will take charge for the third time this season.
The first occasion came in a 2-1 Champions League win over Marseille in November, when Conte was forced to stop on the touchline, and the second was a 1-0 win over Manchester City in the Premier League on February 5.
Two wins out of two is not bad for a man whose experience in captaining the team equaled five months coaching Alessandria in Serie A in 2017.
But any suggestion that he is enjoying the experience is quickly refuted. This is the case of taking a fort, nothing more.
“My feeling is not having fun with this; my feeling is being responsible,” he says in an exclusive interview with Sky Sports At the Hotspur Way Training Complex in Tottenham.
“I feel the pressure. It’s a moment when I need to grow as a coach and when you have to make important decisions, you have to feel responsible.
“It’s not about me, it’s about the club, the fans, the players, our jobs and our lives. It’s much more important than my feelings.”
It’s certainly a welcome bonus that he has a direct line to Conte, who keeps up to date on team matters as he takes time to recuperate at his family home, albeit halfway across Europe.
The pair – who have previously worked with each other at Juventus and Inter Milan – are in touch “several times a day”, but while Stellini admits Conte needs time to recover enough, he struggles to get away from the day-to-day running of the squad.
He continues: “Antonio is recovering and he’s a bit upset that he can’t be here with us. But he’s fine physically. We understand he needs to recover from surgery and now he needs to take his time.
“We don’t know if it’s pain [he felt during the AC Milan game] It came from the stress or the little time it took him to recover because staying in charge and living football like Antonio usually comes with passion and that passion may have caused him more pain. He understands that he came back too early.
Tottenham assistant coach Christian Stellini gives manager Antonio Conte an update as the Italian continues his recovery from gallbladder surgery in Italy.
“He’s there. We talk about the team, the training every day and some decisions we’ll make together.
“But this time is only good for his recovery because when Antonio is away with his job, he’s not happy. He’s much happier here, working with us and the team. Maybe it’s a different kind of stress, but he needs to take it easy. I have no idea when.” He will be back, though.”
How did players respond to Stellini’s escalation on several occasions?
“They’re focused,” Stellini explains. “In this aspect I feel comfortable and at ease because when I look into the eyes of the players, I feel that they have more responsibility because Antonio is not here.
“They also look after me because my relationship with them is special, like every assistant manager needs. I can feel the players want to do that too because they love when we work together.
“It’s weird [to step up] Because it’s a different job. It was really strange to be in charge of one match [vs Marseille]But the coach was with me. Now it’s different because the coach is not here, but I feel Antonio’s presence with me.
“I want to say clearly, I am not alone. We are responsible together, we organize everything together and with all the staff.”
Tottenham entered Sunday’s match after two consecutive defeats against Leicester and Milan and remained in fifth place in the Premier League table, although it played two more matches than Brighton, which is four points behind sixth place.
Stellini admits that he saw improvements in the Milan match, but he is looking for his players to step up another notch against the Hammers, who drew Newcastle and Chelsea in their last two league matches.
“We’re sad because after Man City won, we thought we could be much better, much stronger,” he said.
“My feeling is that the Leicester game came exactly three days before the AC Milan game and that could affect the team. We have to accept that.
“AC Milan did much better than Leicester. It was a game where we conceded a goal in a situation we can control and I expect to play a great game on Sunday against West Ham because we need it and we deserve it. We want it. Play the game and win.”
“We have to be careful because West Ham have a certain skill, they are strong. In this league, not many clubs have that kind of skill. They have strength, they are tall, they are strong on the counter-attack, they are strong in set-pieces, so it will be It’s hard to play against.
“We know it’s a home derby in front of our fans and we want to play a great game and show from the start that we are a team.”
Against Milan, North London players started with Oliver Skip, 22, and Bab Matar Sarr, 20, in midfield, due to Rodrigo Bentancur’s injury in the AFC Champions League at the end of the season and suspension of Pierre-Emile Hojberg.
With a hint of a smile, Stillini pays tribute to the young pair and explains how important a role they will play during a time when the club is going through an injury crisis of sorts, with Hugo Lloris, Ryan Sessegnon and Yves Bisoma all set to play. He was sidelined for long periods, too.
“Rodrigo was an important player last season because we reached our goal with Hojbjerg and Bentancur together for a long time. We have to accept losing Bentancur for a long time.
“It’s dangerous, but we’re also happy at the moment with Skipp and Sarr’s performance. We’ve got two young players ready. We’ve said many times that we trust all the young players and also Pape and Skippy are now the reality.
“They are not just young players, they can and should play in the future. They have been amazing [against Milan]. They were completely focused on the game and never really got out of the game. They created a balance for us, defensively and offensively, and in the transitional period. They blocked Milan’s transfer several times.
It remains to be seen if this partnership will last in the short term, but whatever happens, the fact that Tottenham have a week clear before facing Chelsea at home next Sunday can only prove beneficial to their growth.
And with Conte not expected to return to Hotspur Way in the near future, this time will undoubtedly prove valuable to Stellini and the players in order to minimize disruption.
“It’s important to have a full week to get ready for the game, because you have so little time and in some aspects you can’t work when you have a tough schedule where we play every three days. We’re going to use this week not only as a rest day, but also to work on some aspects to play many of games.”
Tottenham are in good hands in Conte’s absence – and all is well, he may find them in a better place when he returns.
Watch the Tottenham West Ham match on Sky Sports Premier League on Super Sunday from 4 p.m.; Kick-off at 4:30 pm
