Presser points | Ferencvaros vs Spurs | James Maddison: "I feel alive on the pitch at the minute"
Thu 03 October 2024, 10:00|
Tottenham Hotspur
James Maddison spoke to the media in Budapest on Wednesday evening, ahead of our UEFA Europa League league phase Matchday 2 clash against Ferencvaros on Thursday (5.45pm UK).
Here's what the in-form midfielder had to say...
England
First up, and straight in, James was asked if he helt he'd done enough to get back into the England squad...
James: "I didn’t think question one would be straight in with the England stuff, but... tomorrow is the announcement, I want to be in the squad. It’s simple, every England player will tell you that. I know Lee Carsley, I worked with him at Coventry, he was my assistant with the England Under-21s under Aidy Boothroyd who I had for a few years in a European Championship. I feel really good at the minute. I feel as fit as I’ve ever felt, really. I feel like my fitness is at an optimum level. Having a break over the summer, not going to the Euros, it does help. I know it’s been spoken about with Erling Haaland, how he’s had a summer off and hit the ground running, and I feel the same. I feel really good. I feel confident. I feel alive on the pitch at the minute. I always say the same clichéd thing when I get asked about the England stuff. It’s if I just take care of my performances for Spurs, which I feel like I’m doing at the minute to a high level, then the other stuff will take care of itself, hopefully. I’ll just continue with that mindset and mentality and hopefully it will get me to where I want to be."
Mindset
James was asked, 'did you come into the season with a renewed determination and resolve?'
James: "A lot of people make quite a lot of talking about the James Maddison of the start of last year. In my own head, the James Maddison that started last year has been there for four or five years in the Premier League, at that level. I think the exposure you get of being at a bigger club and winning games made everyone think, ‘wow, James Maddison is at a really high level’ when really I felt like I had been at that level quite consistently for a few years. Whenever in life you have setbacks, it can go one of two ways, and the gaffer has said it before, it is how you deal with that. You can either let it swallow you up a little bit and feel sorry for yourself and go down that route, or you can respond in the right way or the only way to get back to being successful and getting back in the England squad and playing at the top level for Spurs again. It wasn’t a massive thing. I feel like I actually finished the back end of last season quite well. I always want to prove people wrong, any sort of doubters, people who question, I always want to prove them wrong. That is where I get some of my hunger from, wanting to be the best version of myself for Tottenham, my team-mates and people close to me - but also to prove people wrong who doubt me. I get satisfaction from that. I feel really good at the minute and I feel sharp. Hopefully that can continue."
Mikey Moore
It was put to James, 'you seem to have taken Mikey Moore under your wing, what's he like in training and how good can he be?'
James: "Mikey... when he first came up I had to remind myself how young he actually is. When he first came up he was 16 and more of like a man already. When I watch him play, he’s very powerful, and he’s only going to get stronger as he develops into his body. It’s quite scary, he’s got a lot of ability, but I don’t want him to feel any pressure because he’s getting a lot of people talking about him, and rightly so, and that’s down to him training well, getting in the first team and getting exposure which is what he wants. Firstly, he’s a great kid... a really polite and well-mannered young man, which is a credit to his family because as a senior player with a young lad coming up that’s the first thing you recognise. You don’t want a young lad coming up with that arrogance, and that, 'who does he think he is'. His ability on the ball, we’ve seen it in training and the Spurs fans will be keen to see more in games, but we see it in training. He’s got bags of ability and it looks to me as if he loves the game, loves playing, gets tackles and sometimes falls on the floor and jumps up as if nothing’s happened and he wants the ball again. So I’m really excited to see how his journey goes and try to help him as much as I can. I always try to have a little chat to him because I think, ‘what would a 16 year old James Maddison want?’ and he would want one of the senior first team players to put an arm round him and one, treat him like a man, but also give him advice to try and help him, and accelerate that success and living the journey he is going to have. He has got to go and do it when he gets the opportunity and I’m sure he will, and I’m sure he’s keen and eager to get going and get more minutes. I look forward to it."
Dejan Kulusevski
Deki has impressed in a new, central role alongside James this season, and James was asked if he now shares the creative load with Deki playing deeper...
James: "He’s a forward-thinking player, played a lot as a winger. He’s a top footballer with a top mentality and one of fittest geezers I've seen in my life. It’s nice to play with him, very attacking and I love it. He’s a creative player but it’s not like I felt responsibility to be only creative players in the team. The way we play we kind of create from all different situations with our philosophy. He’s a brilliant player, at Old Trafford he really grabbed the game by scruff of neck, driving us forward. He’s so good at carrying the ball. There’s a really nice balance in there at the minute. It’s a pleasure to play alongside him, especially when he’s like that."
Brennan Johnson
James was asked about in-form Brennan Johnson, 'you're good friends with Brennan Johnson and you posted an image of him as Ronaldo that the Spurs fans have called Brenaldo, how delighted have you been that people are seeing just how good he can be now?'
James: "Brennan is first and foremost he’s a very good friend, I’m close with him. I think a lot has been made of him coming off social media which to him was probably not such a big thing. He’s the type of guy to have a break from that stuff anyway. People have maybe read too much into it too much but since then he's gone four in four, so I don’t think I’ll be telling him to re-download anytime soon! He’s a great kid, a brilliant player. No-one has every doubted that, but he’s really showing it at the minute, consistently. It’s not easy to score four games in a row. He’s a brilliant lad and a great friend of mine, so I’m always there for him. That picture was a bit tongue in cheek, we found it funny when it was put in our group chat, but hopefully he can continue this form because he’s a real threat for us. He can do damage to a lot of opposition in the Premier League and Europe so I like to see him in that rich vein of form."
