Tottenham head coach Antonio Conte has slammed his team’s fans for booing the players in the 2-1 defeat to Liverpool on Sunday.

Spurs failed to recover from Mohamed Salah’s first half brace, with Harry Kane’s strike on the hour not enough.

The result saw the London side slipping down to fourth in the table.

“First of all I think we have to show a great respect all the time for our fans,” Conte told reporters after the game. “They are our fans and they pay their tickets.

“At the same time, if you ask me if I was a bit disappointed (about the booing), yes. Because it’s important in every moment to be honest and I think I always continue to repeat, we have just started a process.

“I think after a year we have made a lot of improvement. If someone thinks after just a year we’re ready to win, I say it would be really, really difficult.

“Liverpool is a really good example that you need time and patience. If we have this everybody is okay. If not, then we can lose our passion and our enthusiasm.”

The defeat marked Conte’s first anniversary with the club, having taken over the reins in November last year.- Soccer24 Zimbabwe