"First of all" - Antonio Conte sends Cristiano Ronaldo message to Tottenham players ahead of Manchester United clash

Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte has urged his side not to be fazed by the threat posed by Cristiano Ronaldo when they face Manchester United on October 19.

Ronaldo was the difference maker when the two sides met in March, scoring a hat-trick to cancel out a Harry Kane penalty and a Harry Maguire own goal for Spurs.

Manchester United claimed a 3-2 victory, mostly thanks to Ronaldo's excellence on the night.

Tottenham were perhaps the better side, and if the Portuguese had not been on the pitch, may have come out as victors.

Conte is urging his side to put in a similar performance when they face Manchester United at Old Trafford tonight.

The Italian coach told SPURSPLAY (via Manchester Evening News):

“Last season, Ronaldo was decisive,”

Conte continued,

“He scored three goals and after the game, I said we lost against Cristiano, not United, because I think we played much better than them, and to lose the game."

The Spurs boss then spoke of needing his side to put in a good performance at Old Trafford:

"But to have a good performance at Old Trafford is important for your confidence, your trust, and on Wednesday we need another good performance against a strong team, in a difficult environment like Old Trafford."

Conte insists that Tottenham want to prove a point against the Red Devils:

"We want to play a good game, we want to play with personality, we want to show first of all to ourselves that we are improving, that our level is growing and then, I repeat, we want to give satisfaction to our fans.”

Tottenham will look to continue their top four push against Manchester United as they currently sit third with seven wins, two draws and one defeat in nine.

Meanwhile, the Red Devils are in need of a victory as they sit fifth with five wins, one draw and three defeats in nine.

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Cristiano Ronaldo will be eager to impress for Manchester United against Tottenham

Cristiano Ronaldo has struggled this season

Cristiano Ronaldo's memorable hat-trick against Spurs in March took the legendary forward to 807 goals.

It meant that the Portuguese had become the highest goalscorer in professional football.

The former Real Madrid striker bagged 24 goals in 38 appearances across competitions last season at Old Trafford.

However, the start of his sophomore campaign in his second spell with the Red Devils has been unconvincing.

Cristiano Ronaldo has managed just two goals in 12 appearances in all competitions, and has found himself out of Erik ten Hag's starting XI regularly this season.

Hence, the forward will be keen to get back among the goals and to do so against a team he has managed 14 goals in 20 appearances throughout his career.