Postecoglou opens up on Brennan Johnson’s hard work behind the scenes at Spurs
Ange Postecoglou praises Brennan Johnson for the amount of hard work he puts in behind the scenes and has backed the winger to continue his fine form at Tottenham.
Brennan Johnson is turning a corner
Johnson has had a difficult start to the season, struggling to put decent performances together and being on the receiving end of some scathing criticism on social media.
The 23-year-old even decided to deactivate his Instagram as a result of the flak he was getting online but he did deliver the perfect response in the Carabao Cup clash against Coventry City, netting the late winner.
The winger’s celebrations were muted after the game even after captain Son Heung-min pushed him towards the away end.
Postecoglou on Brennan Johnson abuse
Postecoglou admitted before the Brentford game that the criticism does affect the former Nottingham Forest man, praising him for the character he showed.
When asked if Johnson is impacted by the things said and written about him on social media, the Spurs head coach told Football.London: “Yeah, I’m sure it does [affect him]. It’s a shame that something that young people, for their own reasons, seem to enjoy they have to close off from because of abuse. I don’t think that’s right. I haven’t spoken to Brennan about it. The lads know what I’m about and my beliefs.
“I keep telling them the same thing, that the most important people in your life, they’re the ones you’ve got to worry about and their opinion, not anyone else’s in terms of validation. Just keep enjoying it.
“He won a game of football for us the other night with a really good finish and at the critical moment. I reckon you put any of his critics in that situation and they would be looking for a change of pants pretty quickly, I reckon. But they don’t think about that in that moment.
“But at the same time, Brennan has had a dream of being a professional footballer his whole life from a little kid and now he’s living that dream. I’d hate to think he’s not enjoying it.
“I keep saying to him we’re all pretty blessed to do what we do, even in the worst of times we’re still pretty lucky to be able to do what we wanted to when we were 10-years-old, not many people can say that.”
Johnson is still adapting to his Spurs role
Postecoglou pointed out that the Wales international is still learning his new position in his system, backing the pacy attacker to deliver consistently soon.
The Spurs boss added about Johnson: “He’s always getting into good areas, it’s about decision-making sometimes. It’s a difficult position to play as a young player. His skill set, once he unlocks the stuff in his head that he’s really good at and adjust his game to make sure he gets the most out of that aspect of it, I think he’ll become a very important player for us.
“But he works very hard on that every day. Sometimes people just look at goals and assists which is the obvious measure for attacking players, but he also gives us a lot of other things, particularly working hard defensively, which he’s worked hard at. He had to. When he first came to us it wasn’t something that was natural to him. He’s got a lot better at that.”
Spurs Web Opinion
We have seen the likes of Mousa Sissoko, Matt Doherty and even to a certain extent, Emerson Royal, turn around their Tottenham careers after struggling at the start, and there is no reason to think that Johnson is not capable of the same.
The post Postecoglou opens up on Brennan Johnson’s hard work behind the scenes at Spurs appeared first on Spurs Web.