Antonin Kinsky has reacted to the revelation that Roberto De Zerbi had considered making him Tottenham captain for his first game in charge, away at Sunderland, back in April.
Kinsky was in a tough period when the Italian arrived at N17, with the Czech shot-stopper being hauled off by Igor Tudor after a disastrous 17-minute spell at Atletico Madrid just a couple of weeks prior.
However, when De Zerbi arrived following the March international break, the 46-year-old had no choice but to start Kinsky as Guglielmo Vicario was out of action after undergoing surgery on his hernia.
In the end, the 23-year-old performed so well that Vicario did not get back his place in the side when he returned from injury, with the youngster now set to be the new Tottenham number one going into De Zerbi’s first full season in charge.
Antonin Kinsky is pleased that Roberto De Zerbi did not make him Tottenham captain
Following Spurs’ 1-0 loss to Sunderland, De Zerbi admitted that he considered giving the armband to Kinsky for that one match to boost the youngster’s confidence following his ordeal in Madrid.
However, the goalkeeper confessed he is happy that the Tottenham Hotspur boss did not follow through with his plan, admitting that his confidence was up as soon as the 46-year-old told him that he believes in his qualities.
When told of De Zerbi considering the captaincy gesture, Antonin Kinsky told Football.London: “I wasn’t aware of that. Honestly, I have to say, I’m quite happy he didn’t do it! I think he wanted to encourage me after what happened. On the other hand, I think when he came, he knew me, he knew that I don’t need any encouragement.
“All I need is to hear that he is confident in me, trusts in me, and gives me time on the pitch. That was key because I was feeling well in that game. Even after the game, what happened happened.
“I just made sure I continued doing what I’m supposed to do – training well and working hard. This is where my confidence comes from. So [being made captain] wouldn’t change anything for me. It would just be taking big attention, which at that moment was not necessary. It was more about the club, not me.”
Kinsky is pleased with Marin Dubravka’s arrival at Spurs
The 23-year-old admitted that he was delighted to hear at the end of last season from De Zerbi that he wants him to continue as the club’s number one.
Kinsky is also over the moon to see Martin Dubravka arrive at Spurs, as he and the Slovak international almost speak the same language.
When asked about hearing from De Zerbi that he would be the number one, the former Slavia Prague man said: “It made me happy to hear that. He was clear with me, which made it very easy for me to make the decision [to stay].”
He said about Dubravka’s arrival: “It’s great, because there is one Czech player in the Premier League, which is me, and one Slovakian player in the Premier League, which is him!
“Eventually, we ended up in the same team, which is great because we speak almost the same language. In English it’s difficult to speak about certain things sometimes, but because he’s so similar to me, his background is also similar, he’s a goalkeeper, we have so many things to speak about.”