Nuno's sacking branded 'cruel' but Spurs could thrive under Conte, Berba claims

Nuno was dealt his marching orders after just four months and 17 matches and Conte is set to be the new boss in N17.

Spurs chairman Daniel Levy and managing director of football Fabio Paratici are understood to have met on Sunday to discuss Nuno's fate after Saturday's 3-0 home loss to Manchester United, the team's fifth defeat in 10 Premier League games this season.

And despite admitting the sacking was 'cruel', Berbatov, who scored 46 goals in 102 appearances in three years at Spurs, reckons Conte could be a great fit at the north London club.

Speaking in partnership with Betfair, Berbatov said: "Nuno Espirito Santo's sacking shows the cruelty and impatience there is in football, especially when it comes to managers.

"You can be sacked after a short period or if results aren't what everyone expected. Four months is a very short period to judge a manager and I don't think Nuno deserved the sack.

"Let's not forget, at one point Spurs were top of the Premier League earlier in the season. Everyone was talking, emotions were running high, and some where saying maybe would be Spurs' year. Fast forward a few months later, Nuno is sacked and Spurs are eighth. Seventeen games is nothing. That's not how you judge a coach, it doesn't matter who it is, you give them more time.

"At the same time, if Spurs have already made contact with certain people - let's say Antonio Conte, who's the favourite to get the job - and he's interested, then the temptation to make the change and appoint Conte gets too big."

Conte is known for his defensively astute teams and often utilises three centre-backs and two wing-backs.

Berbatov reckons the Italian is a 'good fit' but will need to take in mind that Spurs fans want attacking football after seeing the fates of Jose Mourinho and Nuno, who both departed with fans desperate for an offensive style of play.

He continued: "At times, Spurs need a disciplinarian approach. Not always, of course, because Spurs fans want to see attacking football. When Mourinho was there it was more defensive and fans were angry at the style of play.

"If Conte gets the job, he needs to take all this into consideration and know that the Spurs way has always been attacking football and entertaining the fans.

"He needs to look at the previous managers' mistakes, see what the fans were angry about, how the team was playing, how the results went and take all this into consideration and make his plan of action.

"Conte is a disciplinarian, the defence would be tight, but at the same time he would need to find a balance to satisfy the fans. They need to produce attacking football and play with emotion. Based on his reputation, Conte is a good fit and who else can be better for Spurs at this moment?"