Tottenham’s new head coach Antonio Conte has set the record straight on why he turned the club down in the summer – stressing he was still ’emotionally involved’ after leaving Inter Milan – as he hailed Daniel Levy for convincing him to join.

Spurs have moved quickly after sacking Nuno Espirito Santo following the team’s dismal 3-0 defeat to Manchester United with chairman Levy and director of football Fabio Paratici holding talks with Conte and offering him an 18-month deal with an option to extend.

Conte – who was unveiled as the new boss on Tuesday morning – was the club’s top target to replace Jose Mourinho at the start of the season, but the Italian turned them down, with some reports claiming he was unconvinced by the project and feared he would not be backed in the market.

But the former Chelsea boss has sought to clarify the reports and said it was simply not the right time to begin another coaching job, having only just resigned from his position at the San Siro – where he won the Serie A title.

Conte said it was Levy who played a crucial role in him making a U-turn on his decision, praising his ‘contagious enthusiasm’ to convince him and said he would take on the role with ‘great conviction’.

‘Last summer our union did not happen because the end of my relationship with Inter was still too recent and emotionally too involved with the end of the season, so I felt that it wasn’t yet the right time to return to coaching, he told Tottenham’s official website.

‘But the contagious enthusiasm and determination of Daniel Levy in wanting to entrust me with this task had already hit the mark. Now that the opportunity has returned, I have chosen to take it with great conviction.’