Antonio Conte believes Richarlison "did not criticise" him post-match against AC Milan, and thinks his comments were valid after a tough season.
It was Conte's first Premier League press conference since he was forced to have gallbladder surgery in early February.
Tottenham Hotspur have struggled to maintain consistency in recent weeks, which has led to pressure growing on Conte. Spurs face Nottingham Forest on Saturday, knowing they need to win to keep up their chances of top four.
The Italian also spoke about Cristian Romero's need to calm down, the possibility of top four, and his desire to focus on the upcoming matches instead of his future.
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Team news
Spurs need to bounce back from recent disappointment if they want to qualify for the top four this season.
The Lilywhites have struggled with injuries recently, which has only got worse since the AC Milan match.
Conte said: "Emerson Royal did not have the training session today, because he had a kick. Today he was not available for the training session. Tomorrow morning we will try him to see if he is available at least for the bench."
"Another situation we have to monitor is Ivan Perisic. He had the training session this morning, but I want to speak with him to understand if he available for the bench tomorrow."
"Then some injuries, Lloris, Bentancur, Bissouma and Sessegnon out."
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On Richarlison's interview
After the match against AC Milan on Wednesday, Richarlison seemed to criticise Conte, and complained about his lack of game time.
But, Conte believes he did not criticise him, and has every right to be frustrated about his season.
He said: "I watched the Richarlison interview. He did not criticise me. He said my season is ****, and he is right. His season is not good. He had injuries, played and scored in the Champions League and then went to the World Cup and then had a serious injury. He came back, had one month one and then got injured again."
"He scored 0 goals in the league, only two in the Champions League. I think the guy was really honest to say his season was not good. But our season is not finished. He has the time to recover. He deserves to play, and I will give him the opportunity. Otherwise, I will play another player."
"If you ask me about the rest of the interview, the guy understand very well he made a mistake, because when you speak with 'I' and not 'us', it says you are thinking about yourself and you are selfish."
"For this reason, I repeat to my players, if you want to fight for something important, you have to speak with 'we' and not 'I'. If you speak 'I, I, I', it means you are thinking about only yourself and not the others."
"I repeat the guy understand his mistake. He apologised. I had an opportunity to clarify another time the importance of the spirit of the team. Tactics is important, but the spirit is also as important as the other situation."
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On the possibility of Top Four
The North London side currently sit in the top four, but Liverpool are chasing behind them with a game in hand.
Spurs completed a remarkable comeback last season to secure qualification, but Conte believes it will be harder this season.
He said: "You know that we have to try to do our best. For this reason, we have to try to believe everyday in what we do. I repeat that it is very important to have the desire."
"We know that it will be really difficult, because to reach a Champions League place in the Premier league is not easy. Last season, we made this achievement. I think this season it will be more difficult. I have been repeating this for a long time. We want to fight; we do not want to give up."
"If I see someone is giving up, I will tell them to be strong. We have to fight until the end. If I am not able to transfer my spirit, then I have failed."
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On his future at Spurs
Pressure is building on the Italian after a poor run of form in recent weeks. Many Spurs fans have called for Mauricio Pochettino to return to the club, with Conte unlikely to stay beyond the summer.
However, the Italian did not want to talk about his future, and only wants to focus on the upcoming matches.
He said: "In this moment, the most important thing is to be focused on the league. You know what my opinion is; you know what my desire is. I see you a lot of times. The situation I have found is that we are far."
"We aspire to be competitive and to fight to win. I repeat that we need time, we need patience. I see that here that the environment has no patience. Maybe the environment does not want to understand the reality. If no one wants to understand this, I will not speak about my future. The club knows my situation very well."
"If I have to become the people to be a target, then I am not this person. The reality is that we need time and patience. We will see what happens in the future. For sure, this has to be clearer. I am ready to die for this club till the end. Until the end, I am ready to die for this club."
"I signed a strange contract. Usually you sign a contract of three years. I think for the club it was to see the situation. The club need to understand me as a person, and my capacity as a coach. For me, it was the same."
"To understand if we are on the same page, and if we want to do something important. After 1.5 years, the club knows me, I know the club. We are going to finish the season and see. The club knows my thoughts very well. We'll see what happens in the future. I'm not stupid to kill myself. Until the end though, I am ready to die for this club but then we'll see, I'm not too stupid to keep killing myself."
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On Romero's aggressiveness
Romero is highly regarded in the Premier League, especially after winning the World Cup in December.
But the Argentine defender struggles with his aggressiveness, which resulted in him being sent off midweek. Conte believes he has the potential to be a really good defender, but he must control himself more.
He said: "We are talking about a really good player. I said to him, to become a top player (he has all the possibility to be a top defender), he has to try and counter much better than himself. To receive a yellow card after 15 minutes, you say in every moment that you are in danger."
"For sure, I know that he understood, and he wants to improve also in this aspect. If he is able to improve in this aspect, then he will be a really top defender."
"He's a young age, really strong who's improved a lot. But he has to improve this side. I am his coach. My task is to improve my players. He has to improve this aspect to be complete."
After Romero's red card, Conte substituted Dejan Kulusevski for Davison Sanchez. It resulted in boos around the stadium, but Conte stands by his decision.
He said: "We had three strikers, we continued to play with three strikers. We played with Porro. We played with a 3-4-3 [before the red card], without [11 players], we played with 3-2-3. Do you think you only win the game because you play with strikers?"
"We have to find in every moment to risk but not to lose the balance. Then we had the chance. If you think that we can play with four strikers, with a 2-2-4, and if you think so with the counter attack and the space behind."
"I think I do my job and everyone has to do their job. I think that I have a career behind me and the experience to try to make the best decision. Then I repeat that you can accept or not."
"The reality to risk to score, and if you score one goal you go into 30 minutes with four strikers. I understand the fans, but I'm the coach and I always have to find the best solution for the team."