GRAEME SOUNESS: Tottenham don't have the good senior pros

I looked at him and saw a man who thought, 'Is this really worth it?'. His resistance levels have been greatly reduced in recent months by events in his personal life. He has lost two very close friends in Gianluca Vialli and Gian Piero Ventrone, his fitness coach. He was also close to Sinisa Mihajlovic, who passed away in December. Bill Shankly said football is more important than life or death. No, it's not.

Then, two months ago, Conte had surgery to remove his gallbladder. As someone who has been through a major operation and returned to work as a manager, I know how hard it is. It can do strange things to your mind and body. And don't forget, his wife and daughter are also still living in Italy.

 Antonio Conte is a serial winner. I am a fan of his and I expected big things of him at Tottenham

The Italian has lost two very close friends in Gianluca Vialli and Gian Piero Ventrone, his fitness coach

All of that, combined with a group of players he clearly did not like as a collective, has led to him giving up on Spurs. Normally, he would not do that so easily. He is a fighter, spiky and feisty.

But ultimately, Conte was right, it comes back to the players. They might talk like big players and big characters, but are they? I would suggest not, because they don't bloody win anything. And what is a big player? Is it someone who gathers those around him and makes them better? Or is it just about being selfish and looking after your own game?

I never get fed up of saying that, as a manager, you have no chance of being successful unless you have good senior pros. That will never change. I would suggest, therein lies your problem at Spurs. 

Those characters help the manager, they do his job for him in the dressing-room, because you can't be having a pop at them every week. They keep the weak personalities in line and drag them through difficult parts of a season.

I'm not sure Tottenham have any of those players and it strikes me they are crying out for senior pros who will take responsibility, dig others out and be prepared to go out on a limb for the cause.

Conte is a fighter, spiky and feisty and would not ordinarily give up on Tottenham

Daniel Levy and the Italian boss will have agreed ahead of the season that a top-four finish was the target

This is as much a wider point, but players live in a bubble these days, this absolute false existence where they have no awareness of what is going on outside of their world, in terms of how difficult life is for the vast majority of people and the importance they play in people's lives. 

They turn up for work in the most glorious surroundings - they are the pampered pooches of professional sport in our country. Do they want to risk upsetting that cosy existence by standing up and saying to their team-mates, 'You're not doing it. You're not doing it. We need more from you!'?

Tell me, who would do that at Spurs? I don't think there is anyone there who is prepared to properly fall out with his team-mates.

Conte saw that. Those players frustrated the life out of him, to the point of his outburst in the press conference at Southampton. His departure on Sunday was inevitable.

But where do they go from here? Spurs was my first love as a young professional in the early 70s. It is a super football club with a support which demands a brand of football that entertains and wins.

The north London outfit are lacking in senior pros who can get their team-mates in line and take responsibility

Cristian Stellini insisted that he had no job taking on the management role at Spurs until the end of the season

They should be winning trophies, too. They're based in London, so it's no problem attracting players. They pay the wages. They've got the best football stadium in the world from what I have seen, and I can't tell you a better training ground I've been to. Everything is in place. They are the great underachievers.

But after trying two serial winners in Jose Mourinho and Conte and looking for an immediate fix, it is time to go in a different direction with a long-term plan. They should follow Arsenal's blueprint by making their choice and supporting and sticking with their man even through some difficult times.

That said, there is still plenty to play for this season. There are other big clubs who are worse off in terms of league position.

And that comes back to my original point - Conte must have been pretty fed up to explode like he did. It does not reflect well on Tottenham's players.

A lot of folk around the world would have looked at the result from Scotland's 2-0 win over Spain this week and been surprised.

Yes, it was a huge victory, but Scotland have been showing great improvement for the last couple of years. They were fabulous against England at Wembley during Euro 2020 and should have won that night. England were lucky to escape with a goalless draw.

Scott McTominay's brace helped Scotland topple giants Spain to go top of Euro 2024 qualifying group A

But this win against Spain felt significant in terms of belief, and one that will hopefully see a corner turned for good. Don't forget, after that brilliant display against England they then lost to Croatia and exited the tournament.

It is about consistency now, about keeping that momentum going and making major finals the norm, not a one-off.

Tuesday's win was on a par with our 3-1 victory over Spain in 1984. Mo Johnston scored twice but that game is best remembered for Kenny Dalglish's goal when he cut in from the right and finished with his left into the top corner. Hampden Park was on fire and we went on to qualify for Mexico '86.

We felt like we could take on anyone after that, and I'm sure Steve Clarke and his players will feel the same, and so they should.

It is great to see the emergence of the rivalry between Liverpool and Manchester City, but it will never match the intensity of that between Liverpool and Manchester United.

The rivalry between Manchester City and Liverpool will never match that of the Reds and Manchester United

Even if Liverpool and United were not competing at the top of the table, the ferocity of that fixture would remain. It has built over 60 years and is because they are this country's two most successful clubs.

When I was a player at Liverpool, there was never any ill-feeling towards City, and it was the same the other way.

This new rivalry - which we will again see at lunchtime today - has been dependent on them competing against each other at the top for the past decade, rather than any historical significance.

Maybe one day we will see a rivalry that is greater than that of Liverpool and United, but I certainly won't see it.