‘I feel responsible’ – Son makes honest admission after Conte’s departure

Son Heung-Min has spoken honestly since Antonio Conte’s departure as Tottenham Hotspur head coach and insists he “should have shown more” during the Italian’s tenure in charge.

The former Inter Milan and Juventus boss has expressed his gratitude to the club’s fans after leaving North London, while Son’s team-mate Dejan Kulusevski, expressed his sadness to see Conte leave but stressed the need to move on.

“I’m very sorry to him [Conte],” said Son in an interview with Korean media following the side’s 2-1 defeat to Uruguay.

“He is a world-class manager, we had great journey together, I thank him a lot. I do not know how other players are thinking about him, but I’m sorry to him.

“I should have shown more but I couldn’t. I couldn’t help the team and I feel responsible as he left the club.

“He surely has great ability and experience as a coach and I’m sure he’ll have great success in his future career. Coming back to Spurs, I wish to finish the rest of the season in a great way with my team-mates, for our club.”

• ‘I am still young’ – Kane not ruling out scoring 100 England goals
• Chelsea and Real Madrid could join Spurs in fight for Nagelsmann – Paper Round
• Injured Mead would need ‘miracle’ recovery to play at World Cup – Wiegman

Son has failed to hit the heights of last season when he shared the Premier League golden boot with Mohamed Salah after scoring 23 goals in 35 games.

He has managed only six goals in 26 league appearances to date in this campaign, but did score in a 3-1 win over Nottingham Forest on March 11 and registered an assist in the 3-3 draw with Southampton – Conte’s last match in charge.

Tottenham currently occupy the coveted fourth spot in the Champions League, but face a huge challenge to secure a place in Europe’s premier club competition next season with Newcastle, Liverpool and Brighton all within striking distance.

Ben Davies is also ruled out of action due to a hamstring problem, with Ryan Sessegnon, Rodrigo Bentancur and Yves Bissouma all on the sidelines.

However, there is some good news on the injury front as Hugo Lloris could return to the side after the international break. The club captain played behind closed doors in a friendly against Ipswich last week.