Ange Postecoglou explains Yves Bissouma’s return to form with Tottenham
Midfielder struggled in his debut campaign but has excelled under Australian coaches.
Midfielder struggled in his debut campaign but has excelled under Australian coaches.
Ange Postecoglou claims that when he reminded the Malian that arriving late for practice was not a sign of strong leadership, Yves Bissouma’s behavior as a Tottenham player changed.
Prior to sustaining a catastrophic ankle injury, Bissouma struggled to establish himself as a significant player in his first season with Spurs last year. However, he has been an essential part of a midfield three with James Maddison and Pape Matar Sarr since the start of the new season.
I don’t think I’ve done anything specific with him, the new head coach Postecoglou said in a talkSPORT interview on Tuesday. He was present the day I came, which was fortunate for me. Several of the boys had represented their countries in soccer, but Biss had been here from the beginning.
“I sort of grabbed him and, given how he was training at the time — the first three or four sessions we mainly had young guys — I said: ‘You can be a leader in this group.'” Although I was previously aware of his talent, I could tell from the manner he was practicing that he benefited from it.
He was late the following morning, so I reminded him once more that being a leader involves being on time. He’s been fine ever since.
Tottenham’s most well-known acquisition this summer was Maddison, a £40 million transfer from relegated Leicester.
Postecoglou stated, “We signed James relatively early on, which was pretty amazing for me. Although I faced competition from other clubs to sign him, the club supported me early on in the recruitment process.
“From what you’ve seen so far, we’ve acquired a player with exceptional talent as well as someone who is extremely motivated to succeed for this football club. I believe that when you have both, you occasionally get players at various points in their careers, but for James and the club, the timing couldn’t be better.
He’s not simply come here for himself; I believe he’s already accomplished that as an individual. He wants to have an influence. He wants to have an influence for this football team, and I believe James Maddison and all the other players are just getting started.
“The new leaders of this group, Madders, Sonny [Son Heung-min], and [Cristian] Romero, will play a significant part in that. It’s their dressing room, I keep saying. They must be the ones driving it.
