One key Tottenham star admits that he is being driven by the hunger to prove people wrong after the criticism he received last season.
While Spurs were struggling to convert good performances to results in the first few games of the campaign, things now appear to be clicking for the Lilywhites, who have won four games in a row across all competitions.
That is perhaps mainly down to the fact that the midfield trio of James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur have clicked, helping Ange Postecoglou’s men dominate their opponents both on and off the ball.
Spurs are creating chances with astonishing regularity and a huge portion of that is undoubtedly down to Maddison’s upturn in form, with the 27-year-old back to his enterprising best.
Many felt that the attacking midfielder was in the form of his life at the start of last season before tailing off towards the latter part of the campaign.
The England international appears to have now rediscovered the same form but he refuted suggestions that he was playing especially well at the start of last season, insisting that his performances at Leicester largely went unnoticed.
Maddison told Football.London: ” A lot of people make quite a lot of talking about the James Maddison of the start of last year. In my own head, the James Maddison that started last year has been there for four or five years in the Premier League, at that level.
“I think the exposure you get of being at a bigger club and winning games made everyone think ‘wow, James Maddison is at a really high level’ when really I felt like I had been at that level quite consistently for a few years.”
In the summer, Maddison had to deal with the heartbreak of being left out of the England squad for the Euros despite playing a crucial role in helping the Three Lions qualify for the tournament. The Spurs midfielder also missed out on Lee Carsley’s latest England squad this afternoon.
When asked if he had a renewed determination following Gareth Southgate’s snub, the Tottenham man responded: “Whenever in life you have setbacks, it can go one of two ways. And the gaffer has said that before. It is how you deal with that.
“You can either let it swallow you up a little bit and feel sorry for yourself and go down that route, or you can respond in the right way or the only way to get back to being successful and getting back in the England squad and playing at the top level for Spurs again.”
The Spurs vice-captain confessed that he is driven by the desire to silence his critics and prove his doubters wrong.
He added: “It wasn’t a massive thing. I feel like I actually finished the back end of last season quite well. I always want to prove people wrong. Any sort of doubters, people who question, I always want to prove them wrong.
“That is where I get some of my hunger from, wanting to be the best version of myself for Tottenham, my team-mates and people close to me — but also to prove people wrong who doubt me. I get satisfaction from that. I feel really good at the minute and I feel sharp. Hopefully, that can continue.”
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