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Djed Spence has opened up on how former Tottenham boss Antonio Conte “shattered” his confidence and says he had just “one conversation” with the Italian while he was in charge.
Right-back Spence joined Spurs in a £20million deal from Middlesbrough in 2022 but then-manager Conte barely played him, insisting the former Nottingham Forest loanee was an “investment for the club” rather than his own signing.
The 24-year-old has spent time on loan at Rennes, Leeds and Genoa since arriving in North London but has broken into Ange Postecoglou’s side this season, regularly featuring in both full-back positions.
Spence: ‘I had one conversation with Conte’
Speaking of his time under Conte, Spence told the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast: “It wasn’t a nice feeling. Especially as I was coming to the club on a high, I was confident, I was buzzing, I’d had a great season and just won promotion.
“Then it was like running into a brick wall. It shattered my confidence a bit. I’m young, it’s not nice to hear really.
“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 shrugs shoulders] and, ‘What am I doing?’”
He added: “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?’ Because he’s not really a complimenting guy.
“I probably had one conversation with him.”
Djed Spence: “I Want To Play For England” 🏴
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Spence: ‘I’ve been too humble’
Spence also discussed the turning point in his Spurs career this season which has seen become an important part of Spurs’ side.
“I think I’ve been a victim of being too humble,” he said. “Thinking things are just going to happen by not doing nothing and 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 like I gave them too much respect in regards I didn’t really be myself, I was a bit too humble with everything.
“When I went there, I saw players who were big names like Harry Kane and Sonny [Heung-Min Son], and I’m thinking, ‘I don’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.”
Asked when that attitude changed, Spence replied: “I’d probably say this season, the beginning of the year.
“I think it just happens naturally. I’ve got no time to waste now. I’ve got to go get it, it’s time so it just clicks.”