Brennan Johnson has revealed that it wasn't a "massive deal" to deactivate his Instagram account. In wake of September's 1-0 North London Derby defeat at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the Spurs ace decided to call it a day with his social media account due to the amount of abuse coming his way.
It proved to be a difficult period for the 23-year-old and Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou jumped to his defence and hit out at those sending the attacker and other players online abuse. Since electing to come off Instagram, Johnson has enjoyed a prolific run in front of goal after scoring in seven of his last eight games for club and country.
Saturday's win over West Ham was the only match the winger didn't manage to score in but he went very close to extending his tally in the first half with a header that just went wide of the post. Opening up on the decision he made regarding social media, Johnson revealed that it didn't stop him changing his approach on the training ground and he instead continued to work as hard as always.
"It wasn't a massive issue in my head, " explained the Wales international when speaking to Tottenham's official matchday programme ahead of the West Ham match. "I think it's been made out to be quite a big thing.
"It was just a split decision in the moment where I thought 'I'll just delete it', which I have kind of done before when I deleted the app, and this time I thought I'd just deactivate my account, but it wasn't a massive deal for me.
"I think, naturally, it can be a distraction and everyone's probably guilty of scrolling for too long and things like that. It wasn't anything too tactical and it definitely wasn't to try to enhance and improve my game or add something different - it was just a personal decision I made instead.
"All the training and hard work never stopped throughout. I didn't change my approach as I always come in and try to do the best I can here because l love this team."
Johnson has already bettered his goal tally for last season by one after hitting six goals in Tottenham's first 11 games of the 2024/25 campaign. The player could finish with a rather impressive total come May if he continues to excel at his current rate.
Key to his prolific form in front of goal has been his work with Tottenham assistant coach Ryan Mason. The pair have worked closely together at Hotspur Way on a number of different aspects of his game and it has resulted in Johnson reaping the rewards on the pitch.
"Last season most of my goals were kind of at the back post as we work on a lot of crosses and I'll always have it nailed in me to get in there because l know there are goals to be had, like the one against [Manchester] United," explained the former Lincoln City loanee.
"I want to show a bit of everything to be honest and want to keep doing what I'm doing at the moment. Obviously, if I can keep building and adding extra parts to my game then I will do that.
"I've been working with the coaches here and especially with 'Mase'. He's been doing a lot of work with me on picking up positions, the different types of finishes, what kind of part of the foot I'm hitting with and also dribbling and then shooting, so a lot of thanks must go to him because he's been helping me a lot with that."
Johnson will be looking to make it three goals in three games when Tottenham return to Europa League action against AZ Alkmaar on Thursday evening. Having already netted in the Qarabag and Ferencvaros games, the Nottingham-born player will be intent on playing a big part again as Tottenham look to maintain their 100 per cent start to their Europa League league phase campaign.
It is Johnson's first time playing in Europe and he is hoping it ends with Tottenham lifting the trophy in Bilbao come May.
"It's been really cool playing in the Europa League. It gives you new experiences and also new styles of play," he said. "We've been able to cope with the two teams that we played against. We've shown why we play at such a good level because we're intense and showed why our style of football is really good at any level.
"It's been a really good start to Europe and hopefully that can continue because that's definitely a competition that we're looking to win and I think we have enough to do that."
Enjoy some Spurs nostalgia with the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham where it's all about the 1990s! Click here for in depth Spurs chat on your preferred podcast platform.