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Antonio Conte insists he has his players well-being at the forefront of his mind, as well as Tottenham’s long-term success after confirming speculation that fizzy drinks and tomato ketchup have been banned from their stars’ diets.

The Italian manager is preparing for his first home Premier League match in charge of Tottenham against Leeds on Sunday. You can see here the predicted Tottenham side that Conte is likely to put out against Marcelo Bielsa’s men.

Spurs remain unbeaten under his charge, having drawn at Everton and recorded a 3-2 win over Vitesse Arnhem in the Europa Conference League.

Reknown as one of the world’s elite managers, Conte has been a success at every club in which he’s managed. Indeed, his ability to get the best from his players has seen him win trophies at Juventus, Chelsea and Inter Milan.

Now back in London with Tottenham, he’s beginning to exert his influence on Harry Kane and co. Following his appointment, rumours circulated that Conte had banned ketchup, mayonnaise and fizzy drinks from the Tottenham canteen.

Now the meticulous-to-detail Italian has explained his thinking, having confirmed the speculation.

Conte said: “It is not only important the training or the game. You have to prepare yourself in the best possible way. I consider sleeping very important, I consider having good nutrition very important. These two aspects bring the player to recover quickly.

“If you have this type of situation in the right way you can recover quickly, you are ready to work, also sometimes to work very hard and also to avoid injuries. To be professional it means to have all of these situations in your mind.

“Obviously I like also to speak about good nutrition. I spoke with the nutritionist. I am going slowly, slowly because now the most important thing is to work very well on the pitch, to give the priority to the physical, tactical and mental aspect.

“For sure we are going step by step. We want to improve every aspect of my players. Usually when I start to work with players maybe at the start someone can’t understand something like this but then when they start to understand they don’t go away from this road.”

The menu changes produced results at Stamford Bridge, with Chelsea winning the Premier League in Conte’s first campaign in charge.

And the Italian showed earlier this month he continues to demand the best of those he has worked with – even for his former players who are now retired.

John Terry received a comment from the current Spurs boss on a recent Instagram post that showed a book and two biscuits which read “John only 1 biscuit” along with some emojis.

Conte in food warning to Tottenham squad 

While Tottenham players may be careful over any pictures they post on social media which contain food, Conte has insisted one way or another he will know if they are following his rules.

“In Chelsea, I did exactly the same. We spoke about the good food and to eat well. This is a must and in every club I had a nutritionist,” he added.

“You have to stay the right weight, you have to have good fat and good muscle.

“To be professional means you have to take care of your body. If you do this you risk less injury and you are ready to face the training because sometimes the training is hard.

“I can see the results from the nutritionist and I can see if this is OK or not OK and maybe you are not doing well outside the training centre. This is a part of it, to improve the players in many aspects and make the players understand.

“The pitch and game is only the final part of your work. You have to prepare your body, mind, also your heart and passion to do this.”

READ MORE: Paratici, Conte agree on deal with £29m star to join Tottenham

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