Yahoo Sports Postecoglou ‘never doubted’ Maddison as Spurs smash Man City
Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou says he “never doubted” the ability of James Maddison after the midfielder scored twice to beat Man City on their own patch.
The 28-year-old hadn’t started either of Tottenham’s previous two Premier League fixtures but came back into the starting lineup for Saturday’s trip to the Etihad Stadium.
The decision to reinstate Maddison paid immediate dividends for the manager as he gave the visitors an early lead against the run of play.
Maddison doubled Spurs’ lead soon after to set them on their way to a convincing 4-0 victory, second-half goals coming from Pedro Porro and substitute Brennan Johnson.
“It’s significant, when you understand the context of who we were playing,” Postecoglou told Sky Sports on the importance of the scoreline.
“I’m proud of the lads, the football we played, the resilience and discipline we showed. When you play City they test every aspect of your game and we handled that well.
“It was an important game for us, the way the boys reacted [to defeat to Ipswich]. It’s easy when you’re under pressure to splinter off but I never got the sense that would happen this week.
“The disappointing thing over the last few games is we’ve fallen well short of the kind of team we want to be. But I’ve no doubt we are on the right track.”
Postecoglou admitted he took personal responsibility for Maddison’s recent poor form, but felt he would deliver against Man City.
“He was outstanding,” the Australian said. “You have to be against City, and Madders was great. He’s gone through a lean spell but I never doubted his ability. I thought the kind of game we were expecting would suit him.
“I thought we’d need his ability to keep the ball in tight midfield areas. I take it personally on myself if players aren’t reaching their level, that’s on me to get him back up there.”
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