James Maddison acknowledged that Tottenham fans will be hurting after a poor season, but he pointed out that the players are as well. The attacking midfielder admitted that everyone at the club is keen to repay the faith that the supporters have shown over the course of the campaign.
Whole generations of Tottenham Hotspur fans have never witnessed the team perform as poorly domestically as they have this season.
Spurs are on course to finish with their lowest-ever points tally in Premier League history, which is not a stat that can be explained away merely by injuries or other setbacks.
However, the Lilywhites still have a golden opportunity to turn this into a memorable campaign by lifting the Europa League, with only Bodo/Glimt standing between them and the showpiece final in Bilbao.
James Maddison insists Tottenham players are also hurting
During his press conference on Wednesday, Maddison was asked an interestingly worded question about fans being hurt, and his response clearly indicated that he did not like the framing.
The 28-year-old pointed out that the players are not losing on purpose and that they are hurting as much as anyone else due to their poor results this season.
Maddison was asked (via Football.London): “The supporters are embarrassed, hurt and angry. Do you owe them one in this competition, given what they’ve been going through?” and he responded: “They or we? We’ve been going through it.”
The journalist then said: “Yeah, but you’ve been putting them through it with the results in the league..”, to which Maddison retorted: “On purpose?”
When he was then asked: “No but don’t you feel you owe them one?”, the attacking midfielder said: “We definitely want to reward them for the support that they give us by creating something special because the League hasn’t been good enough, definitely.
“But it hurts us as well, let’s not create the narrative that…yes, it’s us players out there and we take responsibility for that. But it hurts me a lot that we’re having a poor season.
“But this is why we’re so motivated for this competition because the season can still be so special. People talk all the time about Tottenham being without silverware for however many years, but we’re in the last four and we’ve got a great opportunity in a competition we’ve been pretty solid in this year.”
Maddison admits players have felt the continued support
There have been flashpoints between Spurs players and the supporters on a few occasions this season, but Maddison admitted that overall, the squad is very appreciative of the fact that the majority of the fans have stuck by the team.
The 28-year-old reiterated that no one at the club is happy with what has happened in the Premier League and that the players are keen to give the fans something to celebrate at the end of the season.
He added: “Ok, maybe I worded it a bit wrong, but we want to reward them because we feel the support. At the end of games and you’ve lost again, you over and you want to thank them for the support and I know they don’t want to hear it from us.
“Even this press conference and the interview on Sunday, they’re not really that bothered because words are just words. But it hurts and we’re trying to put it right. That’s the main thing, that hunger is there. It doesn’t always work how you want it to, but this is a unique situation that we’re in in the last four in Europe when we can go and reward them for their support because they do travel everywhere.
“We are very grateful for that, even in the league position we’re in and we’ve got nothing to play for, they’re still selling out Liverpool away and we do appreciate that. They are supporting us. It hurts us as well. We’re not satisfied as well. We’re in this together.”
