Antonio Conte has urged Cristian Romero and the rest of the Tottenham squad to have ‘a hot heart and a cold mind’ if they are to create a winning mentality.
Romero has emerged as a key player in the Spurs defence since joining the club on an initial loan from Atalanta last summer.
The Argentina international has regularly displayed an aggressive style of defending, often challenging on the front foot and not showing any fear of getting stuck into tackles.
Romero has also not shied away from carrying his aggression over into Spurs’ pre-season friendlies, and continued to showcase his grit in Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Roma.
He made a crunching challenge to deny Nicolo Zaniolo in front of goal and was later involved in a close-up altercation with Lorenzo Pellegrini, which earned the pair a yellow card each.
Conte, when asked about Romero’s combative edge and his willingness to defend his teammates, explained he wants to see a similar approach from the other Spurs players too.
He said (via Football.London): “I think that in every situation it’s important to have a hot heart and a cold mind. This is the most important thing if you want to be a winner.
“You have to be ready to fight in the right way but you also have to pay great attention. At the same time, I like when my team go to help another player, to create a special unity.
“But every time we need to also have a mind that’s very, very cold. This is very, very important if you want to take another step.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Romero’s style of defending is quite risky but it is very rewarding as it he is able to take a lot of pressure off Spurs at the back. It’s good to have that sort of edge in the squad as it will likely be infectious to the other Spurs players in creating a close-knit group.
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