Tottenham Hotspur’s Emerson Royal has told R7 that he isn’t concerned about the harsh criticism directed towards him from outside the club.
At the start of the last season, the right-back struggled and that saw criticism from a section of the Tottenham supporters, pundits, former players and media.
The 24-year-old finished the previous season with two goals and an assist from 36 games and lost his place when Cristian Stellini was in charge at Tottenham for a brief period.
When R7 asked how he turned things around last season, the Brazil international insisted that there’s no running away from the criticism, but he also made it clear he doesn’t let it get to him too much.
“I’ve always been a guy who has a lot of confidence in myself and my work. The fans, narrator, commentator and whoever is watching don’t know what I do every day, they don’t watch my training, they don’t know the work I do at home, I know who I am. They criticised me a lot, but I didn’t listen,” he said.
“Obviously, there’s no way I could escape it, because it was in front of me, on social media and in the stadium, but I knew my potential. I believe that in a situation like this you have two options: either you victimise yourself or you turn things around, and I’ve always been the person to turn things around.”
The former Real Betis man has made eight appearances this season, and that includes only one league start, which came in their first game against Brentford in August.
He even scored in Spurs’ 2-2 draw against the Bees and despite this, Ange Postecoglou has favoured Pedro Porro on the right side of defence this season.
With regards to the competition with Porro for a place in the starting lineup, Emerson explained: “I’m completely professional, it’s healthy competition, which we enjoy. Even though I’m not always playing, I’m strong, and when the coach needs me, he can always count on me.
“I have the ambition to seek my position again and keep Tottenham at the top of the table, and I believe that this season we have a great chance of staying in the fight for the title.”
