'I am Not a Magician': Antonio Conte on the Defensive as Tottenham Loses to Slovenia's NS Mura

Antonio Conte's managerial career is full of success stories. Guiding Juventus to three consecutive Serie A titles from 2011 to 2014, leading Chelsea to the Premier League crown in 2018, and powering Inter Milan to glory in the Italian league in 2019, he has done it all. But things have been quite different with Spurs.

Tottenham head coach Antonio Conte has defended himself after his team suffered a stunning 2-1 loss at the hands of Slovenia's NS Mura in the Europa League on Thursday night.

Conte argued that "he wasn't a magician" who could fix Tottenham's issues with a magic wand, before reiterating that the situation at the club wasn't as simple as people otherwise thought.

"I must be honest and tell you that after three-and-a-half weeks, I am starting to understand the situation. I can tell you that the situation is not simple", he said after the game.

While the Italian acknowledged that there was a gap in the level of Tottenham's play and other top teams in England, Conte went on to slam his side for their poor display against Mura before emphasising that his team needed to improve by leaps and bounds.

"It is not simple because in this moment for sure the level of Tottenham is not so high. There is an important gap to the top teams in England. Of this we must not be scared. I am here to work, here to improve the situation", he said.

"After three-and-a-half weeks, I am happy to stay here but at the same time I must be honest and tell you we need to work a lot to improve the quality of the (current) squad. We are Tottenham and Tottenham in this moment, there is an important gap", Conte stated.

Widely regarded as one of the best tacticians in football, Conte knows that the weight of the expectations on his shoulders is quite high due to his past success with Juve, Chelsea, and Inter, but insisted he needed time to build a world class team with Spurs.

"If someone thinks that a new coach arrives and Conte won in the past and then I am a magician. But the only magic I can do is to work. To bring work and work to improve, to bring my methods, my ideas of football. But we have to understand that we need time", the former Juventus coach said.

The North London-based team's defeat to Mura came as a complete shock to both Conte and Spurs fans, considering the Slovenian side hadn't won any of their previous four games in the tournament.

Additionally, the minnows are the team with the lowest-ranking in Europe's premier club competition.

While Mura got off to a lightning start in the match, grabbing a 1-0 lead in the 11th minute with a goal by Tomi Horvat, Tottenham fought back with the help of Harry Kane's strike as the England skipper tied the proceedings at 1-1 in the 72nd minute.

And just when it looked like the game was heading towards a draw, Amadej Marosa's 94th minute goal came out of nowhere, sending Mura's players into wild celebrations.

On the other hand, shock waves reverberated around the football world as Spurs were defeated by a side that nobody expected to win.