Mauricio Pochettino believes Moussa Sissoko is turning around Tottenham career
The 29-year-old is making significant progress this season after a difficult start to life as a Spurs player
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Your support makes all the difference.Mauricio Pochettino admits Moussa Sissoko’s Tottenham Hotspur future has at times been uncertain but believes the midfielder is turning his career at the club around.
Sissoko has struggled to establish himself since making a £30m switch from Newcastle United at the end of the summer transfer window in 2016 and, after a testing first year at Spurs, the player acknowledged he may have to move on.
This season, however, the 29-year-old is making significant progress and has helped Spurs maintain their impressive run of early results with starts in the last five Premier League games.
The sound of the visiting fans chanting Sissoko’s name during Saturday’s single-goal victory at Crystal Palace was a clear sign the player is winning over the Spurs support, and Pochettino, the Spurs manager, believes the France international is now being rewarded for his perseverance and endeavour.
“Sometimes different players need a different amount of time to produce performances in the way that you want,” said Pochettino. “But by being honest, professional and always giving your best you can turn the opinion of the people. Quality is so important in football. But quality without effort, being professional and fighting for the team makes it difficult for a player to show that quality.”
Sissoko’s form has helped mask the impact of injuries to a number of Pochettino’s squad and, having been linked with a move away on several occasions, the player’s position at the club appears more secure.
“That is the history of football, no? There are moments and circumstances when you take decisions,” he said. “But football is so dynamic. You need to take decisions in every single moment. But this has not only happened to him. There are many players in football who were close to going and then come in like this.
“But good thing can happen if you are a professional like Moussa and keep pushing and working hard. Sometimes when you feel the pain you keep your head up, keep pushing and keep working hard, that is the only way to get through it.”
Sissoko, who was one of Tottenham’s stand-out performers in a hard-fought game at Selhurst Park that was settled by Juan Foyth’s 65th minute header, is now aiming to extend his run in the side.
“I’ve played five games in a row so I am very happy,” he said. “I know and others know as well that since I came here it wasn’t easy but I never give up. I tried to do my best every game, always tried to work hard in training and be better and better. I said in my head, just try to keep working, stay focused on my job, and if I do good things will turn around. This is a good moment for me. At the moment I am doing well, like the team, so I am very happy and will try to keep going in that way.”
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