'That man wasn't happy about anything' - Djed Spence admits Antonio Conte 'shattered my confidence' at Tottenham after being branded a club signing by Italian coach

Spence moved to Spurs from Middlesbrough in the summer of 2022 after helping Nottingham Forest secure Premier League promotion while on loan at the club in the 2021-22 campaign. Spence's dream move, however, quickly turned into a nightmare as he fell out of favour under then-manager Antonio Conte, who publicly claimed it was the club's decision to sign him. The defender was subsequently sent on a six-month loan to Rennes in the second half of the 2022-23 season.

Recalling his experience of working under Conte on the Rio Ferdinand Presents Podcast, Spence said: "It wasn’t a nice feeling. Especially as I was coming to the club on a high, I was confident, I was buzzing, had just won promotion. Then it was like running into a brick wall. It shattered my confidence a bit, obviously, I’m young. It’s not nice to hear.

"I knew it was rubbish at the time. It wasn’t a nice feeling. I was even going into the club like [puffs out cheeks] and, ‘What am I doing?’ I feel like whatever I did, that man [Conte] wasn’t happy about anything. Even if you did the right things, you were like, ‘Did I do the right thing?’ Cos he’s not really a complimenting guy. It gets to a point where you don’t really need validation from a coach. You just go, ‘Oh’. I probably had one conversation with him."

Conte was sacked by Spurs in March 2023, but Spence did not get an opportunity to make an appearance for the north London side in Ange Postecoglou's first season at the helm as he was loaned out to Leeds United and then Genoa.However, Spence has managed to break into Postecoglou's lineup in the current campaign.

The English full-back added: "When a new manager comes in you think, 'Alright, everyone's going to get a fair chance, he's going to have a look at everyone'. With me, I don't think that was really the case. But that's part of the game of football. Football's not fair. [Postecoglou] just said basically I need to go out and play and that's when I ended up going to Leeds.

"Sometimes you might not get a chance that you feel like you deserve. I've always known I was good enough. People say, 'It's good to see he's got a second chance and he's doing well'. I never really got the first chance. This is my first chance and I'm taking it. I'm just happy I worked hard, I stayed consistent and I was ready."

On Conte's methods of training, Spence said: "I feel like with Conte [training] was very repetitive. We would literally do the same situation every day. With Ange, it’s a bit different. We do change it. He switches it up every day. I think I’ve been a victim of being too humble. Thinking things are just going to happen by not doing nothing and not saying nothing. But sometimes you have to express yourself.

"In my first year at Tottenham, I feel I gave a bit too much respect to the players and the surroundings because it’s Tottenham. I came from Forest, I’m going to the Premier League, a top-six club, and I thought, 'Phew, this is big'. I feel I gave them too much respect in regards I didn’t really be myself. When I went there, I saw players who were big names like Harry Kane and Sonny [Heung-min Son], and I didn’t want to step on anyone’s toes. But that was probably my biggest mistake, doing that and not expressing myself how I should have. I’d say this season [that's changed]. I’ve got no time to waste now. I’ve got to go get it, it’s time."

Spurs will be back in action in the Premier League on April 3 as they face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, with Spence likely to be in the frame for a starting role.