James Maddison reveals what Ange Postecoglou said on first day as Tottenham boss that’s been foundation for success

James Maddison revealed that Ange Postecoglou’s ‘infectious’ personality has worked wonders behind the scenes at Tottenham.

Postecoglou’s Spurs are currently sitting top of the Premier League eight games into the season and are yet to taste defeat in the league.

The Australian was drafted in from Celtic this summer and has already won over players, fans and pundits alike with his straight-talking, no-nonsense attitude.

Maddison, who signed for £40million from Leicester in the summer, has been at the heart of his revolution with two goals and five assists already.

The playmaker revealed to talkSPORT what Postecoglou is like behind the scenes and how it’s driven the early success.

Maddison said: “He has come in and had his way of playing and his methods. The way he wants us to train day in, day out is infectious. There’s not a day where you can go out and be half-hearted.

“Every day and every training session is intense, it’s hard and it’s his way, but we’re reaping the rewards of that on the pitch on a Saturday.

“The gaffer is a good man, first and foremost. The first thing he said to us on one of his first days was ‘be a decent human being and we’ll get along fine’.

“That’s one of his morals and you can tell by the way he carries himself and he speaks to people that he’s a good man.

“He’s open, he’s honest and he’s straight to the point. He’s very direct and there’s no mucking about. That’s just refreshing. You don’t want managers who are giving mixed messages and having favourites.

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“He’s a good, hard-working man, which is the foundation that he bases his teams off. It’s infectious to us players.”

Maddison is already looking like one of the signings of the summer and revealed how he has been able to settle so well at the north London club.

He said: “I’ve said on numerous occasions when you go to a new club and you’re a new signing it can sometimes take a little bit of time to adapt. It hasn’t really.

“It feels like I’ve been at Spurs for ages and just kind of fits. The new manager is brilliant as well.

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“We’ve started the season well and know it’s a long old season and they’ll be bumps in the road, especially this soon into the manager’s project and what he’s trying to build.

“We’ve got off to a pretty good start and hoping that can continue.

“The feel of the club, it just kind of suits me. The fans have been brilliant with me and made me feel like a million dollars, which is allowing me to go and perform on the pitch.

“I just want to go out there and play well and perform. I want to be the man to take Spurs to the next level.

“I think we’ve started really well and the team is buying into what the manager is trying to create, which is important to his message and his philosophy. You forget that he’s knew in the door as well.”

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