Antonio Conte has told how Gian Piero Ventrone, Tottenham’s late fitness coach, had asked to skip training with a fever in the days before he died from leukaemia.

News of Ventrone’s death sent shockwaves through football when it broke on Friday. Tottenham’s players yesterday paid tribute to the Italian after their 1-0 victory over Brighton yesterday, with Hugo Lloris holding up a shirt with his name and Harry Kane close to tears in a post-match TV interview.

Italian Conte, speaking for the first time since learning of the death of his close friend, has revealed that Ventrone’s primary concern in their final phone call was how his absence might impact on the team. “This is how he was,” said Conte. “He was more worried about missing training than anything. 

“It was really difficult for everybody when I communicated the bad news to the players. We didn’t have a training session on Thursday because everybody was so emotional.” Conte and his entire squad will travel to Naples, where they will attend Ventrone’s funeral on Sunday.

Kane’s goal saw off Brighton and ensured Tottenham keep pace with Manchester City and Arsenal at the top of the table. And Conte spoke of his pride at seeing his players maintain their performance and professionalism in the wake of the tragic events of the past week.

“I’m really proud about my players,” Conte added. “I have said many times the most important thing in a player is that he is a good person. I think in this circumstance they showed themselves to be really a good person. I am proud to be the coach of this team. They are top men.”

Conte and Ventrone had first met when he was a player at Juventus. “I know how hard he is to work for,” Conte smiled at the memory. “He made it very hard for me.”

The two had then worked together when Conte became a coach, Ventrone’s assiduous conditioning of players a big part of their joint success at Juventus, Chelsea, Inter and Tottenham.

“I have to be honest, it was really difficult for us to be focused on the game,” Conte explained. “The situation hurt me a lot, the players were devastated. In only ten months I think Gian Piero really got to their heart. Life sometimes is not good.

"Gian Piero was a really strong person, with a strong character. He doesn’t want to see us not happy. But it is difficult to make him happy because we are devastated by the pain.”