Tottenham midfielder Moussa Sissoko has put his inability to live up to expectations so far this season down to initially struggling with the training plan at the club.
The French international arrived at White Hart Lane from Newcastle United in a £30m move on deadline day earlier this summer, as noted by The Sun, but has struggled to impress.
Having shown his qualities for the Magpies and particularly with France at Euro 2016, big things were expected of him but he has now ‘lifted the lid’ and given his explanation on why things haven’t quite gone to plan for him in north London as of yet.
“The intensity of the training, that was a big change for me because in my old team it was totally different,” he is quoted as saying by The Sun.
“I needed to understand his [Mauricio Pochettino] 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.”
Pochettino publicly hit out at the 27-year-old last month, and called on him to prove that he deserves to be in his starting line-up moving forward, as noted in the report.
In his defence, Sissoko has done that and featured against Manchester United and Hull City to take his appearance tally up to 13 in all competitions so far this season.
He will be hoping to build on that moving forward, starting with the clash with Burnley at White Hart Lane this weekend, as the pressure will remain on his shoulders until he consistently delivers and proves that he was worth something close to the £30m splashed out on him by Tottenham.