Antonio Conte believes January signing Dejan Kulusevski can 'help' Tottenham salvage the season and judging by their defeat to Southampton, they need it.
A deadline day raid of Juventus was all Spurs managed during the January window, yielding £17m midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur and Kulusevski – who joins on-loan with the option for a £30m permanent deal in the summer.
Spurs fans' disappointment in their January business piles more pressure on the duo but Kulusevski revealed his new manager – a former Juve supremo – believes he can make a difference.
'The very first thing (he said) was welcome,' the Swedish star told Sky Sports Italia.
'Then he said that he expects me to help him, especially in attack. He didn't ask for anything special. I just need to work and look at what the others do to play regularly.
'It's not easy to switch from Italy to England. I want to be happy on and off the pitch. If I am happy on the pitch, the rest will happen as a consequence.'
Both new boys came off the substitutes bench on Wednesday, with Kulusevski replacing Lucas Moura 15 minutes after Bentancur entered the fray.
The Premier League served up a typically unceremonious introduction as, with rain drizzling down, Southampton scored twice in response to Conte's changes and flipped the result for a 3-2 win in north London.
Ultra-demanding Conte was understandably furious in the dressing room.
'He was really upset, like each one of us,' Kulusevski admitted.
'Tottenham''s target is to get in the top four. It's hard, but we must believe and not lose games like that. I believe in it. There is an excellent team here.'