Doherty: ‘There’s a lot more to come’

Summer arrival Matt Doherty admits it’s been a ‘tough start’ to life for him in north London, but he believes he is now starting to turn a corner in his Spurs career.

Joining from Wolves in August, 2020, Matt signed for us on the back of two stellar campaigns with the West Midlands outfit as they achieved back-to-back seventh-place finishes as well as their best run in Europe in 38 years. The full-back was an integral part of that side, making almost 100 appearances in that period as well as being involved in an incredible 31 goals across the two years in his wing-back role.

His impressive performances in gold and black were underpinned by his hard work and consistency, yet, since moving to north London, the Republic of Ireland international feels he has been missing his characteristic consistency and that has ultimately hindered his progress thus far. It has been a period of adjustment for him, including positionally, but he will not allow that to be used as any sort of excuse.

In recent weeks, the 29-year-old has impressed with some encouraging performances in our Premier League London derbies against West Ham, Fulham and Crystal Palace - Jose Mourinho describing the defender’s performance in the latest of those games, our 4-1 win over the Eagles, as ‘impeccable’. And, speaking in our official matchday programme ahead of that clash with Palace, the defender admitted that he's felt things have started to click for him as of late and now, he is ready to show Spurs fans exactly what he is capable of.

“I love being here. I have really enjoyed my time here but, personally, it’s not been a great season for me so far,” Matt reflected on his first six months in the capital after 10 years at Molineux. “It’s been a period of adjustment for me but obviously, when playing, I’ve made some mistakes which isn’t a normal thing for me to do.

"I usually pride myself on being a consistent player and not making the errors that I have made this season. I just have to put even more focus and concentration in for 90 minutes and try to be mistake-free, while also expressing myself in the offensive parts of the field.

“Obviously, it’s not the same (playing at right-back compared to right wing-back). When you play at wing-back, you don’t have to defend as much. You don’t get exposed in defensive situations as much as when playing as a full-back, so it is definitely different, but it is not something that it is totally alien to me. I have played there an awful lot - in the national team, I play in a back four.

“There are things I need to improve on and things I need to adapt to. It’s been an indifferent start for me personally, but there is a lot more to come.

“I’m starting to turn the corner, I think. I’m starting to feel good again, to see things a lot quicker and pictures on the pitch a lot clearer. I feel like, lately, I’ve started to go around that bend, the form is kind of improving and, when that happens, things start to come off for you and that obviously builds your confidence. So, going into games, I feel really good with where I am."

Commenting on his recent on-pitch link-up with Gareth Bale, Matt added: “Lately, me and Gareth have been playing together a little bit, whether it has been in cup games, Europe or wherever, and I feel we do link up well. He goes inside, gets in the pockets, obviously opposition players are scared to go near him because he is so good on the ball and I’ll do the running up the line if I have to. Whether he slides me in, puts me out wide or I get the cross in, we seem to link up well and we just seem to have an understanding. I know if I make a run, he has the vision and the weight of pass to slide me in – and it’ll be perfect. So, I do really enjoy playing in the team with him.”