Antonin Kinsky opens up on his mindset after that disastrous outing in the Champions League for Tottenham against Atletico Madrid back in March, and how he managed to overcome that setback.
Many thought the 23-year-old Spurs career was over after he came off in tears after a disastrous 17 minutes at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.
However, as fate would have it, the young goalkeeper was given another chance due to Guglielmo Vicario’s injury, and he grabbed it with both hands, making crucial contributions in helping Tottenham avoid relegation.
The Czech stopper signed a new contract earlier this summer and goes into De Zerbi’s first full season in charge as the club’s clear number one.
Tottenham star Antonin Kinsky reveals he never gets too high or too low
The young goalkeeper has undoubtedly shown great strength of character to bounce back from adversity, and were it not for his brilliance in his final few games of last season, Spurs could well have gone down.
Kinsky has shared that just as he never allowed himself to get too low after the Atletico Madrid clash, he does not get too high when things are rosy now.
When asked about being able to remain calm and collected through a topsy-turvy few months, the goalkeeper told Football.London: “I think it’s the way my parents raised me. Never be too high, never be too low. Always be you. Always believe in yourself, because sometimes you can have good results, sometimes you can have bad results,” said Kinsky Jr.
“It’s not always dependent on your skill. You can be doing well, but then sometimes maybe it doesn’t work, or you can have a good game and still you don’t win, and it can happen for five games in a row. And what then? Will I be asking myself, am I good or am I not?
“It comes from how my parents raised me to work really hard, then when the tough moments come, you know what you put in, what your qualities are, and if you are able to compete at that level.
“I know what I’ve been doing since I was young, how hard I was working, how hard I’m working now, and what I’m going for. It’s natural for me, but definitely thanks to them, and to one more person in my life, my personal coach. His mindset is completely switched on. He’s one of those people who you see, and you are like, ‘Wow, a great person’. A confident person.”
Kinsky credits Spurs goalkeeping coaches for making sure he is ready
The former Slavia Prague man hardly played until the final few months of last campaign, and would have undoubtedly endured a frustrating time watching on from the bench.
He praised Fabian Otte and Dean Brill for helping keep him focused through that time and for helping him deal with the setback he suffered in the Spanish capital.
Tottenham’s new number one, Antonin Kinsky said: “My job is to play and train and listen to them, not to judge. I will say that he and Dean Brill, because Dean was with me since I joined the club, are great people and great coaches. I think what you say [about Otte’s PHD] confirms the quality. If you have all these degrees and you work in professional football for such a long time, it speaks for itself.
“I enjoy working with them, and they were definitely key people for me last season. I wasn’t playing regularly for seven months, and that’s difficult for every player, especially a keeper, because as a player you maybe get a few minutes every game, but as a keeper you get nothing.”
“In those moments, you need to train really well and be happy with yourself from the work on the pitch. I can do whatever I want in the gym and do the work that I’m supposed to do, but if I don’t have a good feeling from the pitch, then it’s difficult. They made sure I was feeling very well, so I’m very thankful to them.”