It looks as if a one-time wantaway Tottenham Hotspur defender has had a chance of heart about his future.
Danny Rose came in for harsh criticism last summer where in an interview with The Sun, claimed that he he underpaid, questioned the club’s transfer policy and wanted to play closer to his home in the north before his career was over.
The left-back dismisses claims that he is injury-prone as “a load of nonsense” and is ready to challenge Ben Davies for the position, beginning in pre-season.
Rose told the media: “Everyone seems to get this perception that I am injury prone or I get a lot of injuries – that’s not the case at all.
“I got injured last season, I tried everything for three months to avoid an operation. I had about 50 tablets and 20 injections, it didn’t work and I needed an operation.
“I came back in October; I was fit until December; I was injured in a tackle; I was out for a month and then I had a muscle injury in March – my first muscle injury in two years – so I have had two injuries this season and people seem to think I have had a lot of injuries.
“It’s a load of nonsense. I have had to bide my time getting some minutes. It is a season where I have had to be patient and be mentally positive. Even though I haven’t played as much as I’d like I feel like I’ve grown mentally so there are positives to take out of the season.
MORE SPURS STORIES
“I wish I could have played more, but you have two players to compete in each position and that is how I would want it at any football club.”
Rose added: “I fancy myself against anybody in the league. Pre-season I’ll come back and hopefully me and Ben start from scratch and we start again and work hard to nail that number one spot.”
The 27-year-old made just 15 starts this campaign and admits that he has not confronted Pochettino about his lack of game time.
Rose said: “Not really. If I am playing, the manager will let me know and if I am not that’s it.”
Asked about the interview he gave last year, he says he has no regrets about how outspoken he was.
“It happened 10 months ago, there is no point talking about it now,” he said. “I regret nothing, I didn’t tell any lies. I like to think everyone has moved on, I am here and I am looking forward to coming back to pre-season and hopefully me and Ben can start fresh and fight for the number one position.
“I have learned my lesson on speaking on that sort of stuff! It is good that the manager has come out and said that. I hope the manager, his coaching staff, the recruitment staff and the chairman can all come together and give the manager what he wants.
“I am fully behind whatever happens in the off-season, I hope we get some good recruits to help us push on and as the manager said the next step is to try and hopefully win something this year.”
Rose continued: “I saw a question the other day ‘have Spurs overachieved’ and that is something that I have thought about a lot of times, have we overachieved? Is it because other teams are doing as well?
“I think you could ask that after one season but when we have done three years on the bounce in the Champions League, we deserve exactly what we have got. We haven’t overachieved – nobody has seen how hard we have worked. To play 38 games away from is an amazing achievement and I hope now we can push on now and nick something next year.
“The manager gave a speech after Newcastle and he said that we need to realise what an achievement we have done this season playing 38 games away from home and when he said that I didn’t realise when you put it into that perspective. It is a huge achievement and we should be proud of what we have done this season and in the last three years as well.”
Do you think Danny Rose will be a Spurs player next season? Have your say below.
Keep up to date with all the latest Tottenham news and opinion by following SpursWeb’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.
