Despite their stunning Premier League loss to Manchester City, Tottenham is "going in the right direction," but Antonio Conte admits they are "not ready" yet.

Spurs led the champions by two goals at the break of their match on Thursday, only to suddenly surrender in a dismal second half performance and lose 4-2.

They have only managed one victory in their last five league contests, which has caused the team to fall outside of the top four and the title race.

Conte believes Tottenham's deficiencies are highlighted by their loss to City, but the Italian is adamant that improvement is also being shown despite the setbacks.

"In this moment, we are not ready to fight for important achievements," he said. "There are other teams more ready than us.

"We are working hard and going in the right direction. In one or two years, we will win this type of games. If I have to compare this game with last season, we played much better today.

Full-time. pic.twitter.com/j0382ewhmq— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) January 19, 2023

"The performance was good. We played with personality, we created problems for City. Today, we were really brave, but compared to last season, we are conceding too many goals.

"You have to try to justify the goals that we are conceding. This is a period we are not so lucky in. [But] you don't buy experience. We have to build [it] year by year."

Ahead of his side's game with Chelsea, Conte acknowledged he was taking stock of his career following the deaths of several close friends and colleagues in recent months.

The passing of Gian Piero Ventrone, Sinisa Mihajlovic and Gianluca Vialli has affected the Italian, but speaking after the full-time whistle, he insisted he remains focused on the task at hand with Spurs.

"I think that we have to try to understand that we are talking about two different situations," he added. "This situation is my personal situation.