The Championship side added to their fourth-round giant-killing of Manchester United with a deserved 1-0 triumph at the Riverside Stadium thanks to teenager Josh Coburn’s extra-time strike.
Spurs’ performance was dreadful, and they were condemned to another season without a trophy. Their season now depends on a late sprint into the top four.
After a similar defeat at Burnley last week, the Italian was critical of his team, implying he wasn’t the right man for the position, but he stayed composed after this defeat.
“Right now, I’m the last person, and I’m not thinking about myself,” he remarked. When I speak with my players and squad, I emphasize the importance of focusing on ‘us’ rather than’me.’
“There is no difficulty for me, and I have the ambition, will, and patience to keep working very hard to improve, to make this team more stable than it has been in the past, because I believe this is the key to changing the situation.”
“I give it my all every day at work.” Also, on occasion, to speak. Certainly, in this type of situation, you must discover the appropriate key to enter the minds of the players, because it is not always a tactical or technical issue.
“Sometimes you have to try to work and to push in other aspects, the mental aspects and try to stay focused and to work also on the training sessions, to keep focusing.”
Conte again explained his dramatic reaction to the Burnley defeat was a strategic decision and said he has to find the best way of getting the most out of his players.
“Sometimes you have to be strong, sometimes light. My old coaches in Italy, especially Carletto Mazzone, taught me that the coach sometimes has to use the carrot, sometimes the stick,” he said.
“I have to try the right way at the individual moment. After Burnley, I used the stick and we won! After Leeds, the carrot, we lost.
“I repeat: the coach has to try to find always the best solution, not because you’re upset, frustrated and disappointed. At every moment the situation has to be very clear.
“I know there’s a lot of space for improvement for this team and we have to try to be more stable. Tonight we showed that we have a lot of space for improvement in this aspect.”
As much as the story will be about Tottenham’s exit, Middlesbrough were worthy winners and showed their elimination of Manchester United in the last round was no fluke.
They were by far the better team and could have won in normal time but for a number of missed chances.
Something special could be brewing under Chris Wilder, who has already got Boro back in the Championship promotion mix, as they reached the last eight of the FA Cup for the first time since 2017.
Wilder said: “I am very proud of the performance of everybody, I thought the energy that the supporters gave the team was outstanding, it was my first experience of a packed Riverside and it was amazing. The team rose to the occasion.
“I am an honest manager in my assessment of the game – I would have been deeply disappointed if we had not won that game tonight, I thought we did more than enough to win against a top side with an outstanding manager and some brilliant individuals in it.
“To turn over one of the favourites for the competition in the fifth round is a brilliant achievement.
“(The goal) just shows the elation of a young footballer getting a winner for his hometown club in the fifth round against Tottenham Hotspur, that will live for a long time in the memory of Josh.
“It is a great moment for Josh, his opportunity came about and it was brilliant for him to smash home the winner.”
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