Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou has insisted playmaker James Maddison does not lack self-belief ahead of their opening match of the Premier League season.
Maddison, 27, struggled with injury last season, seeing his electric form at the start of the campaign fizzle out. With four goals and nine assists in 28 matches, it became clear that the former Leicester star, who will be returning to his previous club for the first time on Monday, was trying too hard to get involved.
After missing out on England's Euro 2024 squad, the new campaign presents a fresh opportunity for Maddison to break into the international frame again, something Postecoglou thinks he can do.
"Even though it was not a significant injury in terms of time out, it still set him back a fair bit. Even when he came back, he had a couple of other smaller disruptions and we were also struggling.
"That did not help him because of the kind of player he is. He had a disappointment with the Euros obviously, but he's working harder pre-season and the good thing is that he's fit and given himself a foundation to have another strong season," the former Celtic manager stated during his press conference.
"I am sure he will want to go out there and get himself back into the international frame, but that's up to him to find the right way to use that as a motivation. If you deflect at any point and say 'that had nothing to do with me', you are missing an opportunity to improve."
At his best, Maddison is one of the best players in the Premier League. Capable of switching play quickly and elegantly gliding past the opposition, the Coventry City prodigy can be world-class — and Postecoglou continued to outline that he is not a player purely determined by confidence.
"I don't know what a 'confidence player' means. As a player, you've got to be on it all the time. You can't pick and choose. If you're physically fit and you get selected, you should be buzzing. I do not think Maddison lacks self-belief," the 58-year-old said.
"He knows he can be a really dominant player. Last year, a lot of it was about the physical element. When he was not 100% fit, he could not perform at the levels he wanted to. Even when he came back from injury, I never felt like he reached the levels he had earlier in the year.
"That's really key for him. If he's training really well and in good physical condition, his game flows from that. We've tried to give him a really strong pre-season — pushing him in a physical way — where I think when he feels really good about that, the rest of it goes from there. Rather than him lacking confidence or self-belief.
Postecoglou later added: "He's an exciting player. When the ball's at his feet, he's one of those creative types — and, for most people, that's what rocks their boat. Others love a big tackle and a great save, but he's a player who can get punters off their seats. The players feed off that as well. It's important for us that he's playing at his best. He makes us a better team and more dangerous. Hopefully that's what we see."
Tottenham finished last season in fifth and they will be hoping to go one step further and reach the Champions League this campaign. As they begin their season against Leicester, expectations are high in N17, but they will have to perform without midfielder Yves Bissouma.
"The best way is education" for Bissouma
Tottenham suspended Bissouma for their opening match of the season after he filmed himself taking nitrous oxide on social media last week.
Possession of nitrous oxide, where a person intends to wrongfully inhale it for a psychoactive effect, is now an offence under the Misuse of Drugs Act since last November.
Bissouma, 27, previously apologised for his actions, stating that there was a "severe lack of judgement." However, Spurs still opted to suspend him, insisting that the former Brighton midfielder must regain trust and undergo education.
"How prevalent it [nitrous oxide] is I don't know because it's a world away from my kind of life, but I think the best way is awareness, education and understanding the ramifications of making those decisions. Obviously, there's the personal ramifications; it's illegal," the manager said.
"There's a significant price to pay there. I am sure Bissouma is like every other human being. He's got people in his life who love him and they would not want to see that. Then there's the professional responsibility of the image of the game. There are so many people who follow the Premier League and we are all in a pretty privileged position.
"We get well rewarded for that, but there is a responsibility for what you do. There's a reason it's illegal; it's not because somebody thought 'let's ban this for no particular reason'. There's science behind why it is.
"He's made a poor choice, but within that context, we all make mistakes and there should always be an opportunity there for rehabilitation and redemption. That's up to Bissouma now."