Antonio Conte has insisted he is happy at Tottenham but warned he will have to leave if he can no longer accept the club are unlikely to win the Premier League or Champions League any time soon. Conte’s contract expires at the end of the season and performances and results since the World Cup have cast fresh doubt on his remaining beyond then. An unconvincing 2-2 draw at Brentford on Boxing Day was followed by an insipid 2-0 home defeat by Aston Villa, leading to audible fury from supporters and the head coach calling for realism about expectations given the resources at his disposal. He went as far as describing last season’s top-four finish as a “miracle”. Not for the first time since he arrived in November 2021, the Italian appeared fed up with his lot. Speaking before the visit to Crystal Palace on Wednesday, Conte denied that was the case, making clear he remains on board with the “big challenge” assigned to him when he replaced Nuno Espírito Santo. He said a fundamental part for all concerned was to show patience in regards to how long it will take Spurs to land a major trophy, having not won anything since 2008. He again refused to say when that was likely to be and, for the first time, admitted he may well reach a point soon where he cannot continue to wait. “My task is to help the club, to create a base, and then to try to improve,” he said. “If you say to me, ‘The challenge for you is to win the Premier League, to win the Champions League’, this is not the task in this moment. “I signed a contract in November [2021] and found the club in a difficult position for many reasons. Now my task – I understood it very well – is to help the club go in the right direction about the choices of the players, about the work, to organise and to create a foundation. This is my big challenge here. If I want to stay here, then I have to accept this. Otherwise, if I don’t want to accept this, then I have to go.” Spurs retain an option to extend Conte’s contract by 12 months and have reportedly spoken to him about a fresh deal that includes a £1m-per-year salary rise. The 53-year-old has given no indication regarding when he will make a decision on his future, the widely held belief being he will see how how this campaign pans out. Spurs are fifth in the Premier League and into the last 16 of the Champions League, where they will face Milan. They begin their FA Cup campaign at home to Portsmouth on Saturday having exited the Carabao Cup at Nottingham Forest in November. Judging by the mood at Tottenham on Sunday, a portion of the fanbase are fed up with Conte’s tactics, which at best can be described as cautious and, at worst, defeatist. Many of those who made their feelings felt in person have also had enough of the owner, Daniel Levy, chanting for him to “get out of our club”. “Honestly, I did not hear this,” Conte said when asked whether criticism of Levy was fair. “All I can say is it is important in this moment to have togetherness between fans, players, club. We must stick together. “I understand fans want to win trophies and be competitive, but to go in this step you need to create a base. I can’t tell you a different thing, otherwise I need to tell good lies and I don’t want to tell good lies.”