Tottenham’s Mikey Moore reveals the areas of his game that have improved considerably during his season-long loan spell at Rangers.
While Moore won the SPL Young Player of the Year award for his outstanding performances at Rangers, it was not all smooth sailing for the winger at Glasgow.
He initially struggled to get into the Gers’ starting eleven and make an impact, and it was only after a managerial change that things started clicking for the youngster.
The 18-year-old looked increasingly more confident with each passing game for the Scottish club, and he believes he has returned to Hotspur Way for pre-season a much better player.
Tottenham starlet Mikey Moore has developed physically and mentally at Rangers
The teenager has shown glimpses of his quality in Tottenham’s first two pre-season friendlies of the summer against MK Dons and Auckland FC.
Moore admitted that it is great to put a Spurs shirt back on again, and insisted that he matured both physically and mentally as a result of playing senior football north of the border.
The Tottenham academy graduate said (via Football.London): “Yeah, it feels good to put the shirt back on and obviously be in the club I’ve been at for so many years of my life. So it’s been nice to be back and see all the boys and the staff. So yeah, I’ve enjoyed myself.”
When asked how spending a season playing for a big club like Rangers has helped him, the youngster responded: “Yeah, I think it’s developed me a lot on and off the pitch. I think mentally I’ve improved a lot because it was a tough, tough season with some high demands.
“So yeah, I know physically it’s something I needed to work on and try and get myself a little bit more explosive, a bit more powerful to be able to deal with the pressure that comes in at a higher level you can go. So yeah, I feel good.”
Moore reveals one big change to his game over last 12 months
The 18-year-old confessed that getting a taste of senior men’s football for a whole season was a huge learning curve, admitting that things are very different to academy football.
Mikey Moore explained that he learned quickly that he has to change things up and not be predictable on the ball when playing at the highest level.
The winger added: “I think I’ve come back and I’ve learned the men’s game. I think when I first came in, I was very… I don’t know, I’d only played academy football. When I came in, I just wanted to do the same. Every time I get the ball, I thought I could do what I could do in academy football. I think when I first went up the levels, that caught me out a little bit.
“So now I know a bit more. I’ve still got so much more to improve where maybe I can lay the ball off at this point and take the man on now. But yeah, I think it was so good for me to be able to get so many games under my belt and I think I’ve improved a lot.”