Conte's words 'assault you' and title winning coach is 'ready to accept' Spurs

He once joked that he would 'kill' any player who fails to follow his instructions or fails to pull their weight on the pitch.

It cracked Thierry Henry up, who was interviewing him at the time, but make no mistake, there was more than a touch of seriousness to the former Chelsea manager's cheeky grin - just ask Diego Costa.

But the method works and Tottenham players can expect to be worked hard if he replaces Nuno Espirito Santo at the helm.

Tottenham decided to sack their manager on Monday morning and talKSPORT understands they believe Conte can be convinced to take over, while journalist Fabrizio Romano says he is 'ready to accept' the Premier League side's proposal.

Conte rejected the job in the summer but Spurs have reopened talks with the Italian and are promising to back him in the transfer market.

And it's no surprise given his track record. He enjoyed huge success at Juventus, winning three league titles in as many years at the club.

The first, won in 2012, was Juve's first Scudetto in nine years as they wrestled dominance of Italian football off the two Milan clubs and established a run of nine straight championships for the Turin-based side.

The Old Lady's Serie A stranglehold was finally loosened last season as the title was claimed by Inter, managed by Conte.

"When Conte speaks, his words assault you," former Juventus star Andrea Pirlo wrote in his book I Think Therefore I Play.

Pirlo played some of his best football under his compatriot and was under no illusion he was playing for a genius.

"They crash through the doors of your mind, often quite violently and settle deep within you. I've lost track of the number of times I've found myself saying, 'Hell, Conte said something really spot-on again today'."

Conte rules his teams with an iron fist but there are more depths to his management than just barking out orders.

Romelu Lukaku, who was Inter's main striker in their title-winning season, credits Conte for changing his career for the better and then some.

"I had Antonio Conte there as a manager who really helped me and showed me what it took to win, and we did it in the second season," Lukaku said earlier this season.

"To learn how to win is basically pushing the barrier. Every trainer has a different way of coaching, but with Antonio [Conte] we really learnt how to go to the red zone. That was it.

"In the second season we were much more consistent in winning big games. That made the difference against big opponents.

"As a player, the Italian game is so different. It's so tactical and technical. You have to make the right run or movement to get another player free. We always had a lot of possession, so we were playing in the opposite half. Most of the time you were back to goal, and everything was going through me.

"I remember having a conversation with Conte about this and he told me if I wasn't good at that, I wouldn't play. For me that was an eye-opener. Once I mastered that aspect then for me everything became easier.

"The game would slow down, and I could control the game more and give more assists. That was really something I wanted to do and I wanted to experience that in another country, where I think it would be beneficial for the rest of my career."

The Belgian's heroics earned him a move back to Chelsea for a fee just shy of £100million and if reports are to be believed, Conte will coming to England again soon enough.

talkSPORT co-host Gabby Agbonlahor kept in touch with former Aston Villa teammate Ashley Young when he joined Conte at Inter.

"He said, 'Non-stop running, every day in training, run run run.'

"If you can't run, you're not going to play in his teams.

"Someone going in there and saying, if you're not doing what I want and you're not doing as you're told, you're out."

Clearly, he's not a man to be wowed by reputation.