Antonio Conte has reiterated his stance that Tottenham coach Maurico Pochettino is under the least pressure of all Chelsea's Premier League title contenders to succeed.
The 47-year-old Italian coach has great respect for Pochettino and his team that finished runners-up to Chelsea in the title race last term.
However, he believes critical comments made by Spurs chairman Daniel Levy over the amount of money being spent on players by other Premier League clubs this summer is another indication of the lower expectations at White Hart Lane.
Chelsea have spent big money on Alvaro Morata (£58million), Antonio Rudiger (£34m) and Tiemoue Bakayoko (£40m), while Standard Sport understands that the Blues are confident of making up to four more serious signings for the 2017-18 season.
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Pochettino hasn't won a trophy since taking over at Spurs three years ago - the north London club's last success was when they beat Chelsea in the 2008 League Cup Final.
When asked about Levy's claims that the fees clubs are paying on new talent is unsustainable, Conte replied: "My question is this: What are Tottenham’s expectations?
"If they don’t win the title, it’s not a tragedy. If they don’t arrive in the Champions League, its not a tragedy.
"If they go out in the first round of the Champions League its not a tragedy. If they go out after the first game that they play in the Europa League and go down against Gent, it is not a tragedy.
"Maybe for Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United and - I don’t know - Liverpool, it is a tragedy. You must understand this. You must understand the status of the team.
"If Barcelona does not compete for the title, its a tragedy. Its the same for Real Madrid.
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"But if Sevilla, for example, does not compete for the title it is not a tragedy and they can breathe. You can think in a different way and you can judge the others, but the others must fight to win the title. Then if you are good to work, very well."
Conte made a similar point about Spurs during the run-in to decide the title last term, when they threatened to catch Chelsea after winning nine successive matches to close within four points.
He added: "I think Tottenham were very good and I think Pochettino is a very good manager and the club is a very good club. But in this season, you built something important. You never won.
"Last season they tried to fight with us for the title and, don’t forget, if we hadn’t won the 10 of our last 12 games we’d have been in trouble.
"Tottenham, in the last 12 games, won 11 games. They lost only one and we lost two. We’d have been trouble. For sure they did a great job."