Ange Postecoglou believes Djed Spence will add depth to Tottenham's squad this season and says there are "absolutely zero issues" with the defender's attitude.
Spence spent last season on loan at Leeds and then Italian club Genoa after failing to win over Postecoglou a year ago, but the manager has given the 24-year-old a fresh chance this summer.
Spence has caught the eye in pre-season, mostly filling in at left-back, and Emerson Royal's move to AC Milan and Tottenham's shortage of homegrown players have opened the door for him to be an important squad player in the coming campaign.
“With Djed, I had an open mind. I certainly think the kind of characteristics he has would fit into our football," Postecoglou said ahead of Spurs' opening Premier League game away at newly-promoted Leicester on Monday night.
“It’s then more about [thinking], 'OK, well he obviously didn’t fit last year, will he fit this year?'
“He’s had a good pre-season. He’s trained really well. He seems to have fit into the group really well.
“I don’t think left-back is his obvious position, I think he’s more of a right full-back, but the fact that he can play out on the left again gives us some good options into the season where with European football we’re going to have more challenges.
“It was quite obvious last year that whenever we had disruptions in terms of injuries or suspensions, our performance dropped a fair bit. We’re trying to narrow that gap. Hopefully having Djed as part of our squad allows us to do that.
“He’s training well, he’s available for Monday and I’ll make those decisions at the weekend."
Spence has been plagued by accusations of a poor attitude during his career and Leeds terminated his season-long loan in January after he clashed with manager Daniel Farke.
Asked if Spence's behaviour had been a problem since he returned to Spurs, Postecoglou said: "You would know about it if it was. He wouldn’t be part of it if it was.
“But that’s probably something that, whether that was right or wrong, as a person and as a player, Djed has taken responsibility for and not allowed that to be part of the conversation this pre-season.
“For me and all the coaches, we’ve had absolutely zero issues with his attitude. He’s trained really well, he’s fit into the group really well.
“That’s on him. He’s the one who hasn’t allowed it to become an issue.”
Spurs' start to the season has been overshadowed by Yves Bissouma's one-match club suspension for uploading footage of himself inhaling laughing gas last weekend.
Postecoglou has said Bissouma must rebuild trust with himself and the squad but dismissed the suggestion that the furore had disrupted his preparations, saying it is nothing compared to dealing with Harry Kane's departure this time last year.
"You would be surprised what you have to deal with as a manager," Postecoglou told reporters.
"I sat here last year in this exact press conference knowing that Harry was leaving. I didn't break down, I wasn't in tears - I was OK.
"It's part of a manager's life and you kind of know with experience that you need to find ways of dealing with these things so it doesn't impact too much on anything else that's going on.
"Because it's unfair to everybody else, my responsibility lies with the whole organisation. You kind of get used to the fact that unexpected things will happen and it's important you deal with them in the best way you possibly can, with all the information you have.
"So I make decisions accordingly and move on really quickly to what's really important. And what's really important is that we've got a game Monday night. For our supporters and our club, I've got to make sure my headspace is getting my team ready for that."
