Tottenham boss Antonio Conte wants his players to be more cynical in games.

That 3-2 win at the Etihad Stadium was Tottenham’s best under the Italian and they can bolster their top four ambitions with three more points at Burnley on Wednesday night.

Conte told the London Evening Standard: “A strong team has to become nasty. During the game, you have to feel the blood of your opponent! Sorry, but I don’t have any other words to explain it.

“In my opinion, when you go into a game, one [team] lives and another dies. You have to be available to do everything – but in a sporting way.

“You have to know that the game doesn’t finish with two happy teams. One team is happy, another is unhappy.

“You have to try to be the team that finishes happy, celebrates all together and then has a good atmosphere for the rest of the week. And then continue to improve.

“Don’t forget, [with] wins come wins. This is very important. We’re talking about the mentality aspect, about the right mentality, the winning mentality.

“For sure, this aspect we’re working on and we need time and patience. But I’m happy because I know with our players, when I tell them something, what I say goes into their heads and doesn’t go in one ear and out the other.”

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