Dejan Kulusevski revealed Antonio Conte has pushed his Tottenham players harder than ever to try to end their dismal run of slow starts.
Spurs have conceded the first goal in their last nine games and had to fight back from two down to earn a draw at Brentford on Boxing Day.
Conte is renowned for his brutal training sessions that left England captain Harry Kane to vomit on the sidelines during pre-season but the Italian has cranked his boot camp up another notch to get his side ready to face Aston Villa on New Year’s Day.
‘We were not happy [after Brentford], the coach was not happy, the team was not happy with that performance,’ said Kulusevski. ‘We must perform better to start winning games and to stop falling behind.
‘One point is not good enough for us. We have prepared for Villa a little bit harder. We’ve been training even harder than usual and worked on the details that we think is going to be important for Villa. I feel the team is ready to play and am looking forward to it.’
Despite the poor starts, Tottenham have still enjoyed their best start to a Premier League season and Kulusevski has played a key role in that success.
The Sweden international has racked up six goals and 13 assists since joining on loan from Juventus last January.
Spurs have missed him when he’s not been there, too. Three of their four Premier League defeats this season came during Kulusevski’s absence with a thigh injury.
Kulusevski’s performances saw him named Sweden’s footballer of the year for the first time, following in the footsteps of 12-time winner Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Freddie Ljungberg and Henrik Larsson.
‘That meant a lot, especially for my family,’ added Kulusevski. ‘My mother can see how much I’m changing people’s lives. It’s a dream come true so I am happy to share it with them. For my friends that have been with me since day one, it’s a huge thing. Zlatan has won it a couple of times – now I’ve got to chase him!’
To do that, he says, he must continue to improve – in all aspects of his life. That’s his New Year’s Resolution, starting against Villa.
‘To come back even harder to be better: be a better player, be a better person, be a better boyfriend, a better son, everything,’ he said.
‘I have to improve a lot and the more I can improve the more I can help my team and the more I can help my country. I’m still young, but I have to score more goals, I have to assist more. I have to help my team as much as I can.
'You do that by being better in every practice, every video session, all the recovery sessions. I have to do everything right.
‘It’s nice that on the first day of the year, you go out and do what you love most. I’m going to enjoy it and hopefully start as strong as possible.’