Heung-min Son responds to absent Antonio Conte dropping him by helping Tottenham back into top four with goal during win over West Ham

Heung-min Son gave Antonio Conte the best response possible to being dropped, by helping fire Tottenham into the Champions League spots.

The Korean scored Spurs’ second goal of the match in a 2-0 win over West Ham, following up from Emerson Royal’s opener in the London derby.

The win puts Spurs ahead of Newcastle, albeit with a game in hand, but back into the Premier League’s top four.

That will come as a huge boost for Conte, who was absent from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium due to returning too soon from gallbladder surgery and needing time to rest.

In his place on the touchline was assistant Cristian Stellini, who led the team out, without Son in tow.

Last season’s joint-top scorer in the top flight has been having a far more difficult campaign, and made way for record £60million signing Richarlison, with Stellini explaining the call.

“Me, Antonio and Ryan Mason made the decision because we have a big squad,” he said pre-match.

“We have to make decisions, and today we want to use energy, we played with Sonny many games and maybe this game could be time out to have Sonny during the match.

Replacing Richarlison, who he’d initially made way for, Son quickly made a far bigger difference than the Brazilian by latching onto Harry Kane’s pass and slotting it home.

Unsurprisingly, it’s not the first time this has happened either.

Last time Son was dropped by Spurs was in September against Leicester, and he responded with a hat-trick after coming off the bench.

Son now has four goals as a substitute, the best record in the division, while he’s now on nine goals in 30 games in all competitions.