“The coach’s decision hurt me” – Spurs midfielder opens up on hard times

Arguably, no player in Spurs history has had as massive a turn around in their club career as midfielder Moussa Sissoko.

The Frenchman arrived from Newcastle United in the summer of 2016 and his performances for the first couple of seasons left a lot to be desired.

In fact, after his first two seasons with the club, the majority of Spurs fans dismissed the 30-year-old has a failure.

However, he managed to completely turn around his Spurs career last season as he went from strength the strength as he got more games under his belt.

The French international was one of Spurs’ most consistent performers last term and even won the Legend’s Player of the Season award.

In an interview with Le Parisien, the midfielder has now opened up on how difficult he found it at North London initially but insisted that he never considered quitting the club.

Sissoko said, “Not being at the 2018 World Cup was, of course, a disappointment, but not an end in itself.

“I was aware of having a complicated year with Tottenham. The coach’s choices hurt me, but it’s the law of football.

“The only thing to do was to redouble efforts. To abandon everything would have been a descent into hell.

“I did not want to stay on a failure. I never thought of leaving Tottenham, it gave me, even more, the desire to do well.

“I have a winning mind, it has been like that throughout my career. I do not make any noise, I do not come in the media to say that I had to play.”

Sissoko also claimed that he is now playing the best football of his career at the age of 30.

He added, “Perhaps I have never felt as strong as today,” said Sissoko.

“I am comfortable, fulfilled, confident. It is often said that the best form of a player is between 28 and 30 years old.

“I did not believe it before, but I have certainly had my best season since playing football. I must continue to ride this wave.

“Last season, I played 95 per cent of the games as an axial midfielder. This is where I have the most success, where I express myself best.

“I have assimilated our possession game. It took time, but I like it there a lot.”

Spurs Web Opinion

Sissoko’s turnaround is proof that we as fans are often poor judges of players’ quality and we should be willing to trust the manager who sees them on the training ground on a regular basis. While Sissoko has no doubt proved to be a useful member of the squad, I expect the Frenchman to drop down the pecking order as the season progresses and his compatriot Tanguy Ndombele to form a fruitful partnership with Harry Winks.

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