Antonio Conte, manager of the Premier League's Tottenham Hotspur, was furious enough at his team's performance against Southampton at St Mary's Stadium on Saturday that he fired at his own players after the game.

"I'm really upset because this is not the first time and, I think today, I can tell you that this is an upset because we are winning 3-1 and, 15 minutes to go, and I think you have to win," Conte told BBC Sports. "Instead we showed this another time, things started to improve last season but we lost the characteristic of last season. I don't want to talk about the technical aspect, the spirit is missing."

Hotspur blew their lead after Theo Walcott scored a goal in the 77th minute and James Ward-Prowse converted a penalty during the stoppage time. Having failed to beat the bottom-ranking team in the Premier League, Hotspur remain the fourth on the standings table, but they are only two points above the fifth-ranked Newcastle United, which have played two fewer games.

"We are not a team. We are a team that everyone is thinking of himself. When you are in this way that can happen, you lose against Sheffield United and drop the FA Cup and with AC Milan and to finish that run you're winning 3-1 and the last 15 you are able to give them the possibility to come back. I don't see the sense of responsibility of the players," Conte said.

"Now it's difficult – we are working hard with this group and to move in the right direction. We are going behind, I see a lot of negative situations and a lot of selfish situations and players that I don't like. I know the way to beat teams, in the past I beat a lot of teams, winning teams," he added. "Now instead we are going behind, no one is interested in this. I have great frustration about this because me and the staff stay every day to think of a way to improve. Honestly, it's time I have to take responsibility for me, the staff, the club but also the players."

It has been over a year since Conte took over as Tottenham manager. The club finished the 2021-22 season fourth. They were eliminated by AC Milan from the UEFA Champions League in the quarterfinals this season.

Conte seemed to be calling for more investment from Hotspur's owner Daniel Levy during the post-game blast. "Tottenham's story is this. 20 years there is the owner and they never won something. Why? The fault is only for the club, or for every manager that stay here. I have seen the managers that Tottenham had on the bench," the Italian manager said. "It is time to change this situation, if Tottenham want to change. If they want to continue in this way, they can change the manager, a lot of managers, but the situation cannot change. Believe me."

Fairly speaking, Hotspur spent over 170 million euros (about $183.2 million) on the transfer market this season, introducing a series of players including Richarlison, Cristian Romero, Yves Bissouma and Destiny Udogie.