Tanguy Ndombele has insisted that he was not hurt by Jose Mourinho’s public criticism of his attitude and work-rate last season.
The Spurs boss gave a scathing assessment of the midfielder’s performance after the 1-1 draw against Burnley back in March, as he questioned his work rate and suggested that Spurs “didn’t have a midfield” in the first-half when the 23-year-old was on the pitch.
Fast forward seven months and the midfielder was arguably one of Tottenham’s best players on the pitch at Turf Moor on Monday night as he put in a major shift to help the Lilywhites edge out the Claret’s 1-0.
It is certainly quite a turnaround for the former Lyon man, who now seems to be one of the first names on Mourinho’s team sheet.
While Ndombele admitted that he took the Spurs boss’ advice on board, he insisted that the Portuguese coach’s words were not really what spurred him on.
Excitingly for Spurs fans, he also said that there is a lot more to come from him in a Tottenham shirt.
When asked about Mourinho’s comments last season, Ndombele told Sky Sports: “His words didn’t hurt me. They didn’t necessarily motivate me either.
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“It was just something that I assimilated and took on board. Of course, it’s not something that you like to hear, those sort of words, but that was last season and we are looking to the future.
“I don’t think we have seen the best of Tanguy Ndombele yet. I’m on the right track but there’s still more to come.”
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