New Tottenham boss Antonio Conte says he has a “big, big challenge” ahead to make the club successful.

Conte has taken over from Nuno Espirito Santo and will be charged with trying to get Spurs challenging for honours and Champions League qualification again.

The Italian said: “This is a big challenge. A big, big challenge. I know very well that this club is not winning for many years.

“But I think I’m here to build the win. The win doesn’t happen after one, two or three days or one month. You must have vision.

“This club has a great vision outside of the pitch. Now we have to start having a vision on the pitch, on the football pitch. This is important if we want to win.”

The 52-year-old said Spurs need to develop physically and emotionally, as well as “improve the capacity to suffer” on the pitch.

“This squad has to work to improve its physical condition to go into my idea of football; to have more order on the pitch and not be so emotional during the game, and also to improve the capacity to suffer,” he said.

“We have to improve in many aspects, and for this reason, I think Tottenham decided to try to change something because this situation is not good and usually the coach pays for this.

“But for sure we have to work together. The players know very well that they have to work a lot.

“If we want to try to be something important for the present or the future, we must be all be together.”

The former Juventus, Chelsea and Inter Milan boss is used to success, but he is not putting any targets on this season.

“Now to tell that we have a specific target is not simple,” he said. “I think the club is the same. (Fabio) Paratici knows very well this is the situation.

“I think at the moment it’s not good or not fair to say we want to do this or reach this.

“At the moment we’ve only to be strong, to start to work together and think that we need to improve. And there’s a lot of space for improvement in this team.

“But now, and more than in the past, after three or four days, we need to work more.”

Conte was handed an 18-month deal with the option to extend, but he is not concerned about that length.

“I think my contract is not a problem, 18 months and we decided,” he said. “I understood also what this club did for me. We can work together for a long time.

“I hope so. I think this club if you want to work, you work. You have a fantastic training ground and the club gives you everything.

“We need to have patience. When you work with a team again, the contract is OK for me.”

Kane: Conte appointment shows ‘great ambition’ from Spurs

Meanwhile, Tottenham striker Harry Kane is excited at the prospect of working with Conte after a slump in form this season, and says the Italian’s appointment shows “great ambition”.

“I am a player that always believes in myself and always believes in my ability,” he said. “I am 28 years old, I have still got a lot to learn, a lot to improve on.

“It’s not been the start I wanted, the team wanted or the club wanted, so we all know that. We all have to take responsibility for it as players.

“It is not something I am worried about, I will keep working and I am really excited about working with this manager.

“I am sure he can improve me and that is an exciting thing when you have done what I have done in the game so far and still feel like there is more to come, that is definitely exciting so I am looking forward to it.”

Kane’s poor form this season has been attributed to the disruptive summer he endured, returning late to pre-season training after the European Championship as he tried to force a move to Manchester City.

The England captain has said he wants to win trophies and play in the biggest matches and Conte’s arrival could be the key to unlocking that possibility at Spurs.

“It shows great ambition to be honest, his resume speaks for itself, everyone knows how highly thought of he is and what he has done as a manager in the game,” Kane said.

“You have to respect that. He will work as hard as he can to improve us as players but it is about us as players, taking it in, learning, doing more on the pitch, doing more in training, doing more away from training, whether it is recovery, making sure we give ourselves every opportunity to win.

“We have a manager and a club that believe in us. He definitely brings a lot of passion, a lot of determination, whether that’s on the training pitch or in meetings, in the dressing room.

“His resume speaks for itself, he has won trophies at the highest level with the biggest clubs so everyone is excited to learn, excited to work under him and that passion he shows every day, every meeting, every training session is what you thrive on.

“You go into games wanting to put your body on the line for him and you can feel that already.

“It has only been three days but he is a fantastic manager. We haven’t reached the standards we have wanted to over the last couple of years, but we hope that this manager can help us turn it around.”