In recent weeks, Mathys Tel has been a rare bright spark in what has otherwise been a dismal run for Tottenham Hotspur.
The youngster didn’t feature as much under Thomas Frank, but after Igor Tudor’s arrival, he seems to be playing himself into the starting XI with a string of spirited displays.
Tel started against Crystal Palace and showed glimpses of his attacking flair in the first half, which is a sign that he could play a big role as Tottenham fight to avoid the drop.
Things are looking a lot better for the Bayern Munich man now than what was the case under Frank, who was sacked last month after a series of underwhelming results in the Premier League.
And now, Tel has finally broken his silence on his strained relationship with the Dane, which was kind of obvious to begin with.
Tel says he didn’t get on with Frank
Frank took charge of 26 Premier League games at Tottenham before his sacking and Tel started just six of those games.
He was also left out of the squad for the UEFA Champions League group phase, although he was later added after Dominic Solanke’s injury.
After his shock European exclusion, he told Le Telegramme: “It’s clear that when you’re not on a list, it definitely hurts.
“But I’m someone who stays pretty positive, no matter the situation, because I think I’ve worked a lot on the mental aspect, so today it’s definitely a disappointment, I would have liked to be there.
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“But the coach’s choice is the coach’s choice, we can only respect it and we’re going to work to come back in the best possible way.”
While his initial comments on Frank signaled his disappointment at his decision, there didn’t appear to be any bad blood between the two.
Now, however, Tel claims Frank ‘didn’t like him’ and made no effort to repair their relationship.
The Frenchman said on the Zach en Roue Libre podcast: “I disagreed with Thomas on my role within the team and he didn’t like me for it. He didn’t look to try and fix things.
“I was confused why I was on the bench a lot, I felt I could help the team more than I was.”
Tudor set to unleash Tel
With key attacking players like Mohammed Kudus, Wilson Odobert and James Maddison injured, Tel’s ability to provide a spark could be much needed for Tottenham to stop the rot.
While most of their players fell flat against Crystal Palace, Tel was Tottenham’s best player alongside Archie Gray as the pair showed urgency and drive to make things happen.
Tudor spoke about trusting players on the right side of his boat. Judging by how the Frenchman has fared in recent weeks, he is surely headed in the right direction and could play a massive role during the business end of the campaign.
