Antonio Conte brushed aside questions about Harry Winks' future at Spurs but said he wouldn't be leaving in the January transfer window.
In Spurs' last eight games, only one of them has been started by Ndombele.
The Spurs boss simply replied "He's aMidfielder" when asked about the role he would play in the squad.
"I pay the same attention to every single player in every single session," he said. My concentration is on the whole squad. There are players who understand very well, others who need more time, and others who are difficult to understand.
He said that it was better for him and the club to speak together and have the situation more clear. It's not right to speak about a player that can come or go.
In contrast, Conte was glowing in his praise of Winks, who has started three of their last six games after playing just 61 minutes in their opening 11 league games.
"Winksy was a reliable player," he said. Winks will stay here. I was shown that I can count on him.
Since returning to the side, Harry has impressed.
Hugo Lloris is free to talk to overseas clubs in January if he doesn't sign a new contract with the club.
"Hugo is the captain of Spurs," he said. He will try to find a solution with the club.
I think he wants to stay. He likes this club. This could be his opinion.
He said he is waiting to have a meeting with the club to discuss transfers.
We need to improve the quality of this squad. I was certain after 10 days. I make an evaluation on the players I can count on.
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When he arrived at Spurs, Antonio Conte said the club needed to strengthen the squad.
The squad needs to improve before they think about a place in the league. The level of the league is very high. In this time, the gap is very large, so I ask for patience and time, so that you can think to be something important. We need to work a lot to improve our squad.
After drawing against Saints, the side will look to get their top-four push back on track on New Year's Day.
The Spurs boss thinks that there is a 'Big Four' in the league, and that they will have to rely on one of them failing if they are to make it to the playoffs.
"I don't know which team is the favourite to finish in the top four," said the coach. On paper, there are four very strong teams.
"Manchester City, Manchester United, and other teams." The four top teams have to fail to get into the playoffs. We have to be very good because there are many good teams. You have to hope the others do well.
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