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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Marc Mayo

Tottenham: Dejan Kulusevski admits ‘I didn’t play well enough’ in frank assessment of season

Dejan Kulusevski has admitted the need for improvement in his game after “not playing well enough” as Tottenham slumped to a poor end to the season.

Despite starting the campaign in fine form, the Swedish winger suffered an injury ahead of the World Cup and struggled after the winter break - with only two goals to his name for the entire season.

Kulusevski has described the “frustrating” period to the Spurs website, with neither his personal contribution nor the team’s form up to standard.

“It’s been a long season, when you think of when we started, it feels like about three years ago!” he said.

“It’s been quite a ride, up and down, very frustrating, I think. We started well, so you have to sum it up in many ways, before the World Cup, after the World Cup... before the World Cup, it feels like another season.

“You have to think about a lot of things. I’m happy, I’m grateful, I think I’ve learned a lot.

“Of course, I’ve been disappointed personally. After the World Cup, I didn’t think I played well enough. Also, the team hasn’t been good enough, especially in the last few months where we tried everything, but it just wasn't to be.”

Spurs are hoping for rapid improvement under new managr Ange Postecoglou.

Kulusevski has joined the Premier League club on a permanent deal following an initial loan spell from Juventus, and he’s hoping to ride out the “storm” surrounding the team to continue his development.

“I still think I can grow so much,” he continued. “I’m still young, I’m 23, I hope to play this game for many years.

“I think I can improve a lot, especially in the head, because that’s where it all is - football here, everyone can play. I’m always positive. We all love this game. Eventually, the storm goes and it’s all smiles again...”

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