Son Heung-min tells Tottenham board as stars left

‘frustrated’

Tottenham star Son Heung-min has endured a tough season so far.

Tottenham ace Son Heung-min has demanded that the club backs head coach Antonio Conte, with the players knowing they will “struggle” if the board does not give Conte enough backing. Spurs have hit a difficult run of form, and Conte’s defense-first methods have attracted criticism. And Son admits the players are frustrated because results are not going their way, Sam Smith writes for Express.

Conte had no choice but to offer a staunch defense of his playing style ahead of Spurs’ Champions League clash with Eintracht Frankfurt on Tuesday evening. But the north Londoners drew a blank in Germany – prompting further dissent from Conte’s critics.

However, Son has urged the Spurs hierarchy to keep backing Conte. The South Korea international, who has struggled for form for much of this season, insists his boss always “wants more, more, more.”

“It’s important – last season, nobody believed we would be here right now, nobody believed we’d be in the Champions League. The gaffer always wants more, more – and as a player, I want to follow his way, or you know what’s coming,” Son told journalists after the draw in Frankfurt.

Son’s only three goals this season came as part of a hat-trick against Leicester in September. The 29-year-old has told his teammates they must stick together through a challenging period.

Spurs were comfortably beaten 3-1 in their North London derby clash with Arsenal last weekend. They are second in a tight Champions League Group D, which Conte has conceded could be decided in the final match-week.

The latest Wolves news from BirminghamLive includes the bizarre evening awaiting Julen Lopetegui.

Sevilla boss set for dramatic Wolves move decision

Julen Lopetegui is preparing Sevilla for a huge Champions League clash against Borussia Dortmund this evening – but he might not be their manager tomorrow, Alex Dicken of Birmingham Live writes.

The former Spain and Real Madrid manager is playing the lead role in a bizarre story that could end with him in the Wolverhampton Wanderers dugout. Before then, though, Lopetegui will take charge of Sevilla for the 170th time.

Sevilla needs a victory to revive their chances of making the last-16 of the Champions League. A heavy defeat to Manchester City, coupled with their failure to beat Copenhagen, has left Sevilla bottom of Group G.

Their form in La Liga hasn’t been any better either. Having finished fourth in each of Lopetegui’s first three seasons in charge, Sevilla is 17th in this one, having won once in seven matches.

Like Bruno Lage was with Wolves, Lopetegui will be the fall guy in Seville. According to various reports in Spain, Argentine coach Jorge Sampaoli is waiting to replace him.

There has been sympathy for Lopetegui’s plight in the Spanish press, with one article published by Marca titled ‘Lopetegui, an example of Seville’ suggesting the coach deserved a more dignified ending.

Mario Cortegana of Marca writes: “Despite the constant noise, from June 2019 to this October, Lopetegui has become the coach with the highest score in the history of Sevilla in a League, has lifted a Europa League, and has qualified the club for the first time for three consecutive editions of the Champions.

“He doesn’t deserve this. He does not deserve friendly fire for the entity’s civil war. He does not deserve to be the one sacrificed by a looted squad after a disastrous market, the result of immobility and improvisation. You don’t deserve to go to work with the expiration date on the label, like a yogurt. He does not deserve to step on the Pizjuán, more salt in the wound, knowing that his substitute is in the city.”

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