Ange Postecoglou not surprised by Maddison’s dig at Roy Keane

Ange Postecoglou has made an admission about James Maddison after he returned to Tottenham action in style against Manchester United. He also spoke about the attacking midfielder’s goal celebration, which was seemingly aimed at his critics.

James Maddison inspires Spurs to a win on his return

Maddison looked like a player who was hungry to make a difference and prove a point on Sunday, with the Spurs vice-captain demanding the ball from his teammates and dictating proceedings, especially in the first half.

The 28-year-old was the first to react after Lucas Bergvall‘s shot was parried by Andre Onana on 13 minutes, being on hand to tap home the game’s only goal.

Speaking last week, Roy Keane had dismissed the idea that Maddison’s return would have any sort of impact on the Tottenham side, which is why the former Leicester man decided to send a message to the pundit by doing a shushing action to the camera during his celebration.

Ange Postecoglou makes an admission about James Maddison

Postecoglou was certainly not surprised to see the England international hitting back at the criticism aimed at him.

When asked about Maddison‘s reaction to Keane’s comments, the Tottenham boss said in his post-match press conference (via BeanymanSports): “Yeah, everyone’s mentioned his celebration, I didn’t see it so I can’t comment on it, it doesn’t surprise me that Madders didn’t accept what was being said about him and threw a shot over the barrel.”

Postecoglou also confessed that he did not expect to have the midfielder back for another two weeks, praising him for the way he worked hard to get back onto the pitch swiftly.

The Australian added about Maddison: “But just great to have him back, he’s a quality player, again, if you just look at his goals return from midfield, it’s still right up there, you know? He got frustrated when he got injured and to be honest, we didn’t think he’d be back for a couple of weeks.

“But he’s worked awfully hard in training, done everything right to make sure he’s available. Pleased for Madders, took his goal well but also contributed to sort of us getting a victory.”

Maddison has the mindset of a champion

Maddison is evidently someone who has a lot of natural self-belief and he was never going to take Keane’s criticism lying down.

He showed his younger teammates how best to react to criticism: use it as fuel to showcase your quality rather than letting it affect your confidence.

Just having the 28-year-old back in the changing room would have come as a huge boost to Postecoglou‘s men, and the Tottenham boss will be hoping that the midfielder can now stay fit and have a strong end to the season.

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