Antonio Conte on Tottenham players "suffering" and "impossible" task facing him

Antonio Conte reckons it's a positive that Tottenham could win "while suffering" as they edged out Vitesse.

The new Spurs boss got off to a winning start in his first game in charge as the hosts claimed a 3-2 win over the Dutch side.

But they were made to work for the three points as Vitesse nearly mounted a sensational comeback.

Spurs came flying out the blocks to take a commanding lead, but they let the visitors back into the game as they reduced their deficit to a goal before the break.

Spurs were then reduced to ten men as Cristian Romero picked up two yellow cards which gave the initiative to Vitesse, until they had two players given their marching orders towards the end as Tottenham ended up the game with a man advantage.

Antion Conte insists it was good for Tottenham to suffer against Vitesee ( Image:

BT Sport)

The north London club were able to hold them off and Conte insists it could be a good thing for his side to win while they weren't at their best.

He said: "It was a crazy game. Usually I don't like this type of game - a crazy game means anything can happen. But at the same time I think we should win and we won. We were winning 3-0 then conceded two goals we can avoid.

"After a red card, we were in trouble. To win while suffering is good for this team, these players.

Heung-Min Son scores Tottenham's first goal ( Image:

Getty)

"They needed to improve their confidence. They needed to work a lot. The problem is we have to find the time to work. We have two days until the next game [they play Everton on Sunday], then it's the international break.

Conte admitted Spurs need to improve, but it would be difficult to iron those things out in time for the weekend as they don't have long to prepare for their Premier League clash with the Toffees.

He added: "For sure we have to improve. It's not easy because in two days we prepare for this [Everton] game... now we have only one day. Tomorrow it's impossible to work with the players who played tonight.

"They used a lot of energy. Tomorrow they have to rest and we'll work with the players who didn't play.

"We need to have a bit of patience because we need to work on many aspects - tactically and physically. I'm not afraid about the work. I know only through the work you can reach important targets."