Antonio Conte's explosive press conference in the aftermath of Tottenham Hotspur's 3-3 draw with Southampton on Saturday afternoon all but confirmed that the Italian's time in north London is coming to an end.

The 53-year-old threw anyone he could under the bus, taking aim at the players, chairman Daniel Levy and the club's ambition and history in a 10-minute, uninterrupted rant.

It was a rare case of the manager giving up on the dressing room, having brandished his squad as "selfish" for not taking responsibility for their failings on the pitch.

Although, Conte has hardly helped himself with key decisions over personnel, team selection and tactics.

For instance, bringing on Davinson Sanchez instead of an attacker when chasing an FA Cup tie against Sheffield United was baffling, to say the least. Whilst his insistence to play a boring, defensive brand of football hasn't won much of the fanbase over.

It didn't have to be like that, though, as Harry Redknapp displayed during his four-year tenure, where Rafael van der Vaart starred as the creative outlet in a pretty dogmatic, well-oiled long ball system.

How good was Rafael van der Vaart at Tottenham?

The Dutch playmaker played off the towering presence of 6 foot 7 target man Peter Crouch and did so to great effect, managing a return of 28 goals and 18 assists across 77 appearances for Spurs.

It was by no means pretty, but it saw the north London outfit make a second successive League Cup final in 2009, having won it a year earlier (their last taste of silverware).

You'd imagine that many supporters around the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium would take that over what they're witnessing from a Premier League-winning boss right now.

Having been pushed out at Real Madrid following the additions of Mesut Ozil and Ángel Di María, and battled with fitness problems following his £8m move to Spurs, van der Vaart was still often reliable when called upon. He was almost the perfect 'Redknapp player' - clearly technically gifted but not exactly the chiselled athlete we see today.

Tottenham's Rafael Van Der Vaart celebrates scoring his sides second goal with Aaron Lennon

The Heemskerk-born maestro, once tipped to be the next Johan Cruyff, was always good for a goal and helped Tottenham navigate the Champions League for the first time, whilst also finishing in the top-five in back-to-back seasons.

His brace against arch-rivals Arsenal and that 25-yard strike at Anfield will long live in the memory and his folklore at the club. Oh, how Conte could do with a player of his quality right now, helping lessen the burden on both Harry Kane and Heung-min Son in the final third.

For the past few seasons, the Lilywhites' chances of winning a game have depended on that electric duo finding each other and subsequently, finding the net and yet again, they led the charts for shots per game and are among the mix for being the most creative players in the squad, via WhoScored.

Without a true no.10 of van der Vaart's ilk, having averaged a whopping 3.2 shots and 2.3 key passes per outing during the 2011/12 campaign, Spurs will struggle when their star duo aren't on their game, which in a defensive-heavy system is difficult enough.

And while they are absolutely imperative members of the squad, an attacking midfield presence is really what could get Spurs back on track.

Redknapp recently suggested that his old team, in which the Dutchman - who was hailed as a "magician" by former footballer Marvin Sordell - starred alongside the likes of Gareth Bale and Luka Modric, could beat Conte's current outfit. A worrying verdict indeed.

Now more known for his ruthless takes in the punditry game, it's hard to argue against van der Vaart changing the fortunes of the Italian and his team. It not only would save Tottenham's season but also Conte's job as it seems as if he wants a divorce during the international break, rather than when his contract expires in June.

Perhaps a player like £8m maestro would have prevented this toxic end to what should've been a more successful and glowing tenure.