Steven Bergwijn admits Jose Mourinho ordered him to push on through the pain barrier before his debut goal in the win against Manchester City.
The Dutch star controlled the ball, swivelled and volleyed the opening goal in the 2-0 win against the Premier League champions on Sunday.
It capped the perfect start to life at Spurs for Bergwijn after securing a £25m move from PSV just five days earlier.
And Mourinho’s message proved key in the 23-year-old pushing through despite suffering with cramp and eventually coming off late in the game.
“It was very hard, especially the first half, very difficult,” the Dutch international told the club’s official website. “After that, I thought we played well. I had to work hard but he [Mourinho] told me ‘when you’re dead, you’re dead’, so I gave everything.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling, fantastic. I hope it’s the first of many.”
Mourinho was full of praise for his latest signing, insisting the goal was merely the icing on the cake of a complete display.
“It was a debut goal that was the icing on the cake of a very good performance,” said Mourinho. “Independent of the goal, I would say his performance was very good, very solid, very mature.
“We worked hard during the week. He came to us Tuesday, so he had a complete week to work and to try as fast as possible to understand what we wanted from him.
“It was a very solid performance against such a difficult opponent like Kyle Walker, but then he was clever enough to appear also in other zones and try to create some problems for City.
“Defensively, very aware of his position, defending zonal, covering spaces. So very, very good and then of course the goal is a great goal, so important for us.”
