MOUSSA SISSOKO has defended his performances at Spurs and says he finally feels comfortable after struggling with the training regime.
Boss Mauricio Pochettino has criticised Sissoko and left him out of matchday squads, saying the £30 million deadline day signing from Newcastle needed to work harder and show he “deserves” to be in the team.
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He has since responded, knuckling down and featuring recently against Manchester United and Hull, Spurs’ last two games, playing well.
But he has admitted he needed time to get used to his new club and its methods. He said: “The intensity of the training — that was a big change for me because in my old team it was totally different.
“I needed to understand his philosophy but now it is OK. I know what he wants, I know what to do and that’s what I will do.
“The style of how he wants us to play, what we do at the training — it was a lot of change. Every manager has his style of training so now I understand everything.
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“For me the manager said what he thinks. For me it was the same, just to come into training and try to give my best. I know what I can do for the team. I know what is my level.
“I just needed some time to be ready on everything because it was a big change for me. Now I understand everything and everything is better for me, and that’s good.”
“It was at the last training before we played Chelsea on Saturday, [he told me I wasn’t in the team], so that was his choice. The manager has to make his 18.
“It’s his choice. For me I just need to keep working at training and hopefully be in the squad for every game.
“To come here it was not easy because a lot of things happened. I signed late, I didn’t have any preparation, a new system, a new job, so a lot of change. I needed to work a lot on that.
“So I spoke with the manager and all the staff, and we tried to work on it at training. Now it is good for me because I played and I did well I think, so that’s good and I hope I can do more for the future.”
Sissoko will be looking to kick on for Spurs this coming weekend when the they host Burnley at White Hart Lane.
Burnley have been dire on the road this season with the worst record in the division, having had six defeats and one draw from their seven league matches away from Turf Moor.
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