Tom admits difficulty with small talk (8)
I believe the answer is:
chitchat
'small talk' is the definition.
(I know that small talk can be written as chitchat)
'tom admits difficulty' is the wordplay.
'tom' becomes 'cat' (a tom is a male cat).
'admits' indicates putting letters inside.
'difficulty' becomes 'hitch' (hitch is a kind of difficulty).
'cat' enclosing 'hitch' is 'CHITCHAT'.
'with' is the link.
(Other definitions for chitchat that I've seen before include "Idle nattering" , "Trivial conversation" , "Idle talk" , "Inconsequential talk" , "Gossipy talk" .)