Tottenham head coach Ange Postecoglou can sense James Maddison’s determination to have a big season after his Euro 2024 disappointment.
Maddison was left out of the England squad after struggling for fitness and form during the second half of last campaign.
Given Maddison had been one of the form players in the Premier League before an ankle injury in November, his omission was a surprise, but Monday presents him with the perfect chance to respond.
Spurs travel to Maddison’s former club Leicester and the 27-year-old will be eager to impress at King Power Stadium.
Postecoglou said: “The good thing is he’s fit and he’s laid himself a good opportunity and foundation to have another strong season.
“The disappointment of say missing the Euros, well that’s just again part of being a footballer. We take all the good stuff, but you have setbacks and it’s how you react to those.
“I’m sure he’ll want to sort of go out there and get himself back into the international frame and get back playing for England.
“Again, that’s up to him to kind of find the right way to use that as a motivation. If you just sort of deflect or at any point kind of say ‘you know it had nothing to do with me,’ then you miss an opportunity to improve.
“Yeah, I’ve sensed in Madders that he’s come back, he’s really determined to have a big season and hopefully that gets him back in the England frame, but more importantly for us hopefully gets him back to the form we know he can have.”
After Maddison missed out on the Euros, he was one of the first to return to pre-season, but Postecoglou did not feel the need to put an arm around his shoulder.
Instead, the Australian believes the key for Maddison to get back to his best is being able to fully trust in his body.
“No, look I haven’t sat down with him but I don’t know what a confidence player really means,” Postecoglou added.
“As a player, you’ve got to be on it all the time. You can’t pick and choose. If you are physically fit and you get selected, you should be buzzing.
“I don’t think with Madders, he certainly doesn’t lack self-belief and he knows he can be a real dominant player. With Madders, a lot of it last year was the physical element.
“When he wasn’t 100 per cent fit, then he couldn’t really perform at the levels he wanted to. Even when he came back from injury, I never felt like he reached those physical levels he did earlier in the year.
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“So, that’s a real key for him. If he’s training really well and in a good physical condition, then I think his game flows from that.
“He’s definitely a player who can get punters off their seats. I think players feed off that as well.
“Yeah, it’s important for us that he’s playing at his best. I think he makes us a better team and a more dangerous team. Hopefully that’s what we see.”
Maddison may also benefit from the arrival of forward Dominic Solanke, who should earn a full Spurs debut at Leicester, but midfielder Yves Bissouma is suspended following his laughing gas incident.
Postecoglou added: “We needed to improve in the front third and we have with bringing Dom in.
“I thought it was a good time for him, but also a good time for us to bring him in because we have a really young group. He’s one that is proven at Premier League level and he improves us.”
