Graeme Souness thinks a “power struggle” at Tottenham Hotspur is “looming” and the pundit has urged Daniel Levy to back Antonio Conte.
The Italian has been Tottenham’s head coach since the end of last year as he replaced ex-Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo.
Conte has done a great job at Spurs as he guided them to a top-four finish last season ahead of Arsenal and Man Utd.
He has been backed in the transfer market as over £100m was spent on new signings during the summer.
Spurs have fared well this season but they have suffered two losses in a row in the Premier League.
Tottenham have been found out somewhat when playing against top sides as they have been beaten by Arsenal and Man Utd after they were fortunate to draw at Chelsea.
Jamie Carragher has called for Spurs to sign a new goalkeeper and centre-back and Souness has now taken aim at Levy.
“I sense a power struggle looming at Tottenham over transfers between Antonio Conte and Daniel Levy and I know whose judgement I would back,” Souness wrote for The Daily Mail.
“Conte is a proven winner and a good manager. His record proves that.
“Levy on the other hand is a man who has run Tottenham for 21 years and won one League Cup. Tottenham are a really big football club and they have punched below their weight on Levy’s watch. They should be challenging for the biggest honours on a regular basis.
“People talk to me about the new stadium and it’s the best anywhere in the world. But it would not be rocket science for a big London club to build a new stadium in the recent and current financial climate of the Premier League. It’s the equivalent of taking a 25-year mortgage on a house. Even allowing for that they have under performed on a large scale. And what about the 18 years before they build the stadium?
“Do you think Tottenham fans want to go on holiday and meet someone in a bar somewhere and say: ‘Cor, have you seen our amazing stadium?’. Of course they don’t. They want to tell people about what a great team they have.
“I think Conte is the best chance they have of making that possible but Levy has got to trust him and try to give him what he wants.”
Souness went on to claim that Levy “will have known what he was getting” when he appointed Conte.
“Conte is demanding and that’s to his credit. The priority of a manager is to get the best out of a group of players and by and large he has done that,” Souness continued.
“He will be pushing Levy for more and Levy will have known what he was getting when he hired him.
“What mystifies me is that people employ a manager on an enormous wage and then immediately start to listen to other people when a signing doesn’t work or you have two or three bad results. Where is the logic?
He added: “I hear what some people say about Conte’s style of play and I accept an Italian’s attitude to the game can be pragmatic.
“I remember joining Sampdoria when we had a young team. We would play Juventus who were the best side in Italy and we would have most of the ball and then get beat one or two nil.
“They had a way of playing they wouldn’t budge from. Let’s stay at 0-0 and see where it takes us.
“But I don’t think we are being fair on Conte if we judge him on one year and two transfer windows. Dear me, give him a chance. And give him some control.”
READ MORE: Are Spurs fans falling out of love with serial winner and gloom merchant Antonio Conte?
