‘Always been that person’ – Tottenham defender says he loves to ‘train hard’

Tottenham right-back Emerson Royal says he has always been the type of person who loves to ‘train hard’ while also motivating his teammates to do the same.

Ange Postecoglou recently praised the likes of Ben Davies, Emerson Royal and Oliver Skipp for their attitude and performance in training, stating that it keeps the others on their toes (Football London).

The 24-year-old Brazilian defender has 11 appearances for Spurs across all competitions this season, but only 23% of them have been starts as he has been unable to displace the talented Pedro Porro from the starting line-up (Transfermarkt).

Speaking about his competition with the Spaniard recently, the former Barcelona man has insisted that he is always there when Postecoglou needs him, and will continue to compete with Porro in a healthy and professional way.

Emerson has been someone who has copped a lot of criticism since his move to Tottenham but the Brazilian revealed that he is not fazed by all that and that he understands that this is a process.

Emerson Royal loves to ‘train hard’

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Sky Sports, Emerson spoke about Postecoglou labelling him an excellent trainer and admitted that he had always had it in him.

He said: “I have always been that person. I have always been a guy who trains hard and loves to compete. I am very competitive in everything I do. If I’m playing ping-pong, I want to be the best. If I’m playing basketball, I want to be the best – even though I’ve never picked up a basketball in my life.

“This is the competitiveness that I have. Thanks to God, the manager has seen it. He has seen that I compete hard and try to help my teammates as well. It is not only about me. I always try to think about the team and help make sure everyone is training well. It’s because I am a competitor.”

Spurs Web Opinion

While Emerson certainly warranted a lot of criticism that came his way during the early days of his Spurs career, I don’t think we give him enough credit for the improvement he has shown since the beginning of 2023.

The former Barcelona man has been a true professional, not cribbing about game time and filling in wherever the manager wants him to.

He will be the first one to hold his hands up and admit that he could get even better but as he likes to say, it’s all a ‘process’ and it’s up to us, Spurs fans, to stick by him as he continues to evolve.