Harry Kane has singled out Tottenham Hotspur teammate Matt Doherty for his impressive performances since returning to the starting line-up.
Doherty had struggled to break into the Spurs team this season, with Emerson Royal preferred to the Irishman in the right wing-back role. However, Royal’s three game domestic suspension has allowed Doherty the chance to regain his spot.
Spurs registered a comfortable 2-0 win at home to Everton yesterday evening, with Doherty in fine form down the right hand side. He was so impressive in fact, that Conte even admitted the player was looking more like the Doherty of last season again (Football.London)
Doherty was really beginning to shine under Conte at the back-end of last season, before suffering a knee injury in April (Football.London). The 30 year old has been pushing to get back to full fitness ever since, and he finally appears to have turned a corner now.
It’s not just his manager who Doherty has caught the eye of though, with teammate Harry Kane praising his performances in the last two league games in an interview with SpursPlay (15/10/22).
When asked about Doherty’s return to the starting XI, Kane said: “Really happy for him. He’s been waiting for his opportunity since he got injured last season, he’s had to be patient this year – biding his time and working hard.”
“We’ve got good competition for places. He’s come in and I think he’s been fantastic in the two games he’s played, delighted for him. I know him really well and I know how much he wants to do well and how much he’s been working behind the scenes,” he added.
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Having Doherty back at his best sounds like a win-win, as Kane explained: “That’ll only give him confidence, it’ll give the team and manager confidence. It’s really good to have a lot of players playing well.”
Spurs Web Opinion
I don’t like to be negative about players, so I will just say I am very happy that Doherty is back in the starting line-up and hopefully now Conte maintains his trust in him rather than reverting to playing Emerson Royal.
Doherty just seems to understand what Conte and his system demands far better, and he offers a lot going forward as well as defensively.
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