Antonio Conte is like an arsonist – Daniel Levy had no choice but to sack him

There are certain types of managers who specialise as firefighters. There are others who love being firestarters.

Antonio Conte is like an arsonist. Wherever he goes, you can guarantee it will be bonfire night several times a year.

The show is over for such managers, certainly at the highest level. They exhaust the energy of players, directors and ultimately supporters; tolerated if they win but relieving stress levels within their organisation when they inevitably depart after one detonation too many.

Jose Mourinho realised at the end of his time in English football that there is less acceptance of this management style. My old boss Liverpool Rafa Benitez has had to drop down the levels in search of work, too. These managers have never been averse to exposing internal division. Where many coaches have an ‘us against them’ philosophy, others are too willing to make it ‘us against us’ or even ‘me against you’.

Conte, like his Spurs predecessor Mourinho, has proven to be a great manager of his era capable of delivering the biggest honours. But the more a CV includes repeated examples of bust-ups with players and directors – and owners find themselves unsure whether to watch press conferences or hide behind the sofa whenever one comes on screen – the less attractive it is to potential employers.

Managers who believe it is their job to challenge their hierarchy will never bring long-term stability. A capacity to be serial winners will always mean the phone never stops ringing, but when the trophies dry up it is no wonder the biggest clubs are more cautious before hiring a combustible personality.

I love passionate football managers. I want to see whoever is coaching my club living every moment on that touchline, ecstatic in victory and deflated in defeat. With Conte, his heart is on his sleeve.

But that has to be channelled in the right direction. Look at Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, Pep Guardiola at Manchester City and Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool. Did they or do they ever publicly criticise their clubs or players? If so, it is unusual and calculated.

Their players have felt like they had to take on everyone else; opposition, referees, the Premier League, the Football Association. It creates a spirit within the dressing room. Go back 15 years and every up-and-coming coach wanted to be either Mourinho or Guardiola. Not now. Pep's is the template others follow.

Continuously blaming players or internal club policies comes across as self-serving and deliberately distracting from poor results and performances. Conte's Spurs reign descended into a masterclass in shifting responsibility.

When Richarlison recently spoke about his frustration about lack of game time, Conte said there was too much reference to ‘I’ and not enough about ‘we’.  You do not have to make a huge leap to understand why players might find that hypocritical.

For neutrals and pundits, such outspoken managers are very entertaining, of course. The clip of Conte’s press conference after Tottenham Hotspur’s 3-3 draw with Southampton was replayed on a loop in the hours and days which followed, making for gripping television. But for those running Spurs and responsible for how they are perceived around the world it was an embarrassment. There could be only one outcome. You cannot publicly slaughter the organisation you work and expect to stay in your job.

Daniel Levy had no choice. He probably would have got rid of Conte on the night of the Southampton game – fully justified, too – but for legal complexities. Conte would not have made those remarks had Spurs held out for another few minutes and won 3-2. They would have gone third in the Premier League and been in a stronger position to finish in the top four.

What more can Spurs expect? Conte moved to north London and accepted a £15million a year contract with his eyes open. He knew there was no prospect of competing financially with Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea and the only way to get closer was with shrewd signings and the kind of on-field strategy that brought success at his previous clubs. Liverpool and Chelsea’s problems this season opened the door for a successive top-four finish, which relative to Tottenham’s recent history is a solid achievement.

No-one in football, not even Spurs fans, expected Spurs to win the Premier League or Champions League this season.

Speak to Harry Kane or any member of the squad, and they would have said finishing fourth was the first priority, and adding the FA Cup or Carabao Cup would offer an excellent foundation upon which to build going into next year, creating a positive momentum.

Instead, they were beaten in the cups after terrible performances at Nottingham Forest and away to Championship club Sheffield United. What does that have to do with Levy, or Spurs’ owners? Did Levy pick the team? Determine the tactics? That was entirely on the manager.

Conte was also backed in the transfer market. How many Premier League clubs paid £60million for a back-up striker last summer? Richarlison was the preferred striker for Brazil at the World Cup, so let’s not hear any more about Spurs being too tight with their resources going into this season.

Under Mauricio Pochettino, Spurs had a fine team which, at its best, was as attractive as any in Europe. What they lacked was the extra one per cent to transform them from genuine Premier League and Champions League contenders into winners. There is valid criticism of Levy and Spurs’ board for their failure to grasp the nettle when the side was on the cusp of success.

He gambled on Mourinho and Conte knowing they were high maintenance and more defensive coaches, but confident they would win a trophy. I am less convinced Levy is the bogeyman in this case, although I am sure he will learn from the experience.

Spurs’ best manager of the last 20 years was a hungry, aspiring coach. It makes sense to look for the same profile as they look for a new manager, which is why Brighton's Roberto de Zerbi brings similar vibes to the young Mauricio Pochettino. Sporting Lisbon’s Ruben Amorim fits the bill, too, and no doubt there will be due diligence undertaken as to why Julian Nagelsmann was so brutally dismissed with Bayern Munich still competing for the Bundesliga and Champions League.

What is guaranteed is Levy will not want to go back down the route of hiring a coach with a reputation for bringing bust-ups and glory. Unfortunately for Spurs, with Conte they had the former and not the latter.