Djed Spence says proving his doubters wrong has fuelled his career to the point where he hopes to make his England debut this week.
Spence earned his first call-up to the senior squad last week after impressive performances for Tottenham.
The full-back has been a regular for Spurs this season, but that has come after fighting his way to the top.
Spence was labelled a ‘club signing’ by former Spurs boss Antonio Conte when he joined three years ago, while the 25-year-old famously fell out with Neil Warnock when at Middlesbrough.
Asked if he keeps a note of the people that have doubted him, Spence said: “Yeah, I do.
“I would not say I particularly have a list or anything, but I do have a mental note of people who doubted me, for sure, and it does feel good to prove them wrong.
“I would probably say the biggest hurdle is when I signed for Tottenham and I didn’t necessarily feel the love straight away, with the manager and everything.
“When I went there, I was on a high, and then I almost came crashing down because of comments from the manager and not playing.
“I [was] buzzing, I [was] going to sign for Tottenham. So to hear comments like that wasn’t nice. It does shatter your confidence a bit.
“But I am fighter. Whatever I do, I will try to do my best in everything I can. Fast forward, I am here now, so I am happy.”
Spence has impressed under Frank during the opening games of this season and the defender revealed that he is a big fan of the new Spurs boss.
“He is amazing,” Spence said. “He has been amazing to me, fills me with confidence, very open and just a down to earth manager. I think he is going to be amazing for the club.”
Spence has been playing as a left-back under Frank, but earlier on in his career, he made his name on the other flank.
He indicated that he is happy to play in either role - as it could boost his chances of playing for club and country.
“Versatility definitely helps,” he said. “I was playing out of position last year, you could say.
“Left-back is my position. Right-back is my position. They are both my position, it is as simple as that really.
“I am enjoying left-back at the moment. I am having fun attacking and defending and also I can do it on the other side as well. It is a good tool to have.”
