Take on Pele, Bentancur and Romero and complete the “Nine Game Run”

Antonio Conte spoke to the media ahead of Sunday’s game against Aston Villa.

Here are the key lines from the Tottenham boss:

• Conte paid tribute to Pele, who died at the age of 82, describing him as “one of the most important players in the world in the history of football”. He added: “I was lucky to know him. He was perhaps the most popular person in football. He was a person who lived without arrogance and he always showed himself to be a humble person.”

• Cristian Romero is fit and ready to face Aston Villa but Conte said Rodrigo Bentancur needed a scan and was unavailable. “Maybe he’ll get an MRI today. He had an injury at the World Cup and the timing is also longer than I expected.”

• Conte said he was impressed by Clement Lenglet’s loan: “We’re talking about a player who played at Barcelona for five years. When you play in this kind of club for so many years you are a great player. He needed a new challenge.”

• Conte was impressed by the defender’s attitude and commitment but doesn’t know if he will stay as it ‘can be attributed to the club’.

• The Italian said he had to give his side credit for reacting to falling behind in nine straight games but urged they start faster. He said: “Our reaction to the equalizer is good and we’ve been good many times to win the game. We need to be focused and pay more attention defensively and not give our opponents more chances. We’ve spoken to the players.”

• Conte said the Premier League break is a great opportunity to work with the squad, especially with the youngsters who haven’t featured at the World Cup. “We tried to take advantage of that to get to know the young players a lot better and work with them more,” he said.