Antonio Conte stays away as Tottenham lose behind-closed-doors friendly

Tottenham this afternoon lost a behind-closed-doors friendly to Ipswich Town, which under-fire head coach Antonio Conte skipped.

With Conte remaining in Italy, having flown out on Monday to spend time with his family as planned, assistant manager Cristian Stellini and coach Ryan Mason took charge of the match.

As few first-team players are still at Hotspur Way this week, due to international commitments, the squad largely consisted of Under-21s players. However, Spurs captain Hugo Lloris did play as he steps up his return from injury.

Ipswich Town, who ply their trade in League One, boasted more senior players and won 3-2 at Spurs' training ground in a 70-minute game. Japhet Tanganga and Lucas Moura scored the goals for Spurs.

Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna spent seven years in Spurs' academy before being forced to retire from playing. He then spent time as Under-18s coach at the club.

Conte is widely expected to be sacked during the international break, with Mason touted as a possible interim option for the final 10 games of the season.

Spurs are next in action on Monday, April 3 at Everton.