Tottenham’s Matt Doherty has insisted he was neither concerned nor motivated by Antonio Conte’s comments about his condition last week, and says is ready to “shine again” after finally overcoming a serious knee injury.
Saturday’s 1-0 win over Brighton was Doherty’s first start for Spurs since he suffered knee ligament damage, which required surgery, against Aston Villa in April.
The Republic of Ireland international replaced the suspended Emerson Royal, despite Conte saying on Monday last week that Doherty was “not in the right way” to start games. The Spurs head coach added: “I am not stupid. I don’t want to lose.”
With Emerson also banned for the games against Everton and Manchester United, Doherty is eyeing a run of games and a return to the form that made him a Conte favourite before he was injured last season.
Asked if he took Conte’s comments as a challenge, Doherty said: “No. To be honest, some of the lads, and one of my best friends, said that it was taken out of context. I didn’t read the whole thing, but they said to me that it was, and I trust their opinion.
“Look, I spoke to the manger when I was on international [duty], I know what he expects of me. I took no offence to the comments at all. It didn’t spur me on. I knew that I’d continue to train hard and that of an opportunity did arise I’d be good enough to take it.
“It’s only been frustrating [not playing] because I feel like it’s fitness issues. I just didn’t feel great in my body. The last four to six weeks I’ve started to feel like myself again. But look, I had a serious injury. It wasn’t a three or four week injury. I had surgery on my knee. I’m happy with where I am at the moment.
“I’ve started to feel good over the last four to six weeks. It’s taken a bit longer than I would have liked for my body to full recover, get my legs back and that match fitness that you need to play for a club like Tottenham. I feel like I’m getting there. It’s only one start. I think if I get a run of games I’d really start to shine again.”
The win at the Amex was emotionally-charged for Spurs following the sudden death of coach Gian Piero Ventrone on Thursday.
“It was pretty brutal to be honest, Gian Piero was real close to a lot of us,” Doherty said. “He brought a smile to every player’s face the second you saw him. It didn’t matter what mood you were in. If you were in a bad mood, and you saw Gian Piero, he gave you a big and you had a smile on your face afterward. He’s going to be a huge loss for us.”
Harry Kane, whose first-half header was the difference on the south coast, added: “Really tough week for everyone.“Gian Piero was a special guy, a special man. I’ve only known him for a year but he just affected so many lives, around the training ground… it’s difficult to describe how much he meant to everyone.
“We did what we could to give his family something to be happy about. I’m really proud of the boys, the way we dug deep, beach it was a difficult game and after a tough week it was nice to end it positively.”
