Tottenham Hotspur assistant coach Cristian Stellini insists that Antonio Conte is 'happy' at the club and believes that the suggestions of the Italian being a short-term manager are 'unfair'.
Conte, who has spent just over a year in charge of Spurs, faces an uncertain future in North London as his contract is due to expire at the end of the season.
However, a recent report claims that the 53-year-old has opened talks with Tottenham over extending his stay at the club.
Conte has never managed for more than three years at the same club, with his spell in charge of Juventus between 2011 and 2014 the longest of his managerial career.
Indeed, the Italian's previous three managerial roles with Inter Milan, Chelsea and the Italy national team saw him stay for no longer than two years.
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Despite speculation about his long-term future, Stellini – who was also Conte's assistant at Juve – believes that the Spurs boss should not be labelled a short-term manager, telling reporters: "It is an unfair suggestion. He pushes himself at a level so high in his work.
"He is so passionate. At every club he takes the club in one position and he increases the level every time. Now we are working well. The team increases, all the players improve themselves and we are happy. There is no problem. We are happy to be here and we feel good."
Stellini has also played down suggestions that Conte has taken on a different challenge at Spurs in comparison to the likes of Chelsea, Juventus and Italy, who already had the foundations in place to fit his philosophy.
As quoted by football.london, Stellini said: "It's not true what you said, because Antonio managed clubs that win in the past, but it was a long time that they don't win, so it's different.
"It's not like this, but when the relationship finished, that club, all those clubs, can win again because if you change your mentality, if you start to work to win something, then you change something in your mind and everyone at the club.
"It is a good situation to start to win, so when he stops, this type of club continues to win. It's different, it's not that he worked in clubs that win every season and we are doing well here. We need time, patience, we need to work to stay in this type of process and to continue to work. Then we will see what happens, but every game we work to win."
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Conte has seen his side suffer back-to-back defeats in the space of three days, with a 2-1 home defeat against Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday followed by a 2-0 away loss against Nottingham Forest in the EFL Cup third round on Wednesday night.
Conte called on Spurs supporters to give his side "time and patience" following the defeat against Liverpool, and he has since suggested that tiredness was a factor for their loss against Forest.
"I think maybe tonight the energy was really poor for us. Don't forget it was the 12th game in a really short period," Conte told reporters after the game at the City Ground. "In our minds and hearts we came with the desire to overcome the opposition and for this reason if you ask me if something was wrong about my players I tell you not, because I have only to say thanks to my players.
"They are really tired. I tried to manage the situation, for example in midfield with [Pierre-Emile] Hojbjerg in the first half and [Rodrigo] Bentancur in the second half because they were really tired with the risk of injuries.
"The same with Harry Kane and with Harry, until this morning we waited to see if he could start or not, but in this situation he was the only striker for us. For this reason I can only say thanks for the availability they show me. In our hearts and minds was the desire to go ahead in this competition. But the difference was the energy. It was really different between us and Nottingham Forest."
Conte, who has been linked with a potential return to Juventus next summer, will now prepare his Tottenham side for Saturday's Premier League clash at home against Leeds United.
Oliver Thomas
