Sonny gives an update on Spurs, his contract renewal and Bentancur's heart felt apology

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Tottenham captain Son Heung-min on Spurs this season, contract renewal, Bentancur's heart felt apology and tomorrows Europa match ahead of the game against Qarabag FK  25/09/2024  Tottenham Hotspurs Training Ground

Transcript

00:00One of the very few left from the Champions League Finals squad,

00:04how determined are you to captain Tottenham to a European trophy?

00:09Yeah, it's a dream. There's no hiding about this.

00:12And so I think that's what we work for.

00:14Obviously, we're looking for another big competition that everybody wants to win.

00:21Yeah, it's going to be a tough, tough competition.

00:24A lot of games and a lot of travelling, which makes it even harder.

00:28So we just got to be ready and take it seriously, the competition,

00:32because it's a massive competition.

00:35I know you mentioned it in the fans forum, but you talk about it being a competition.

00:37It's expanded even more in terms of games.

00:40It's a lot of travelling for all of you.

00:41You yourself, South Korea and back.

00:45Do you worry about not being looked after?

00:47And do you think we're in danger of maybe losing the quality in our matches?

00:52Yeah, I think a lot of players came out and said the right things.

00:56And I think it was very important for someone to actually come up and say the right things.

01:03Sometimes players are the main guys who have to say something.

01:12And yeah, it's definitely a lot of games.

01:14And as a football fan or as someone who loves football,

01:20you want to see the quality of the game, not as many games as possible.

01:24And you don't want to see people or players struggling with injuries,

01:28which nobody wants to see.

01:31And yeah, I think it's definitely a lot of games, a lot of travelling,

01:35which we have to look after ourselves, which is sometimes also very hard.

01:43And sometimes mentally, physically, you're not ready, even not ready.

01:48And then you're going into the pitch,

01:50obviously the risk of injury is massive.

01:54So yeah, we are not robots.

01:56So I think we just definitely have to look after that and reduce the game.

02:00Definitely. And we can play better quality of game.

02:04It's definitely, I think this should be the aim.

02:08If you play too many games, we're all saying play too many games.

02:11First of all, last year Spurs only played 40 games

02:14because they were knocked out early in the League Cup and the FA Cup.

02:18But what tournaments do players not want to play in then?

02:21Because if I said to you, you want to play in the League Cup,

02:23chance to win that first time in 20 years for Spurs, you'd say, yeah.

02:27Same with the FA Cup, obviously Premier League, Europe, internationals.

02:31I mean, you want to play in everything anyway, don't you?

02:33Yeah, but don't get me wrong. We love playing football.

02:35That's clear because that's why we work to be here.

02:39But do you know how much we are travelling and how much we are playing games?

02:43That's not only just about the games.

02:47That preparing mentally, physically, I think it's a lot of work.

02:51And I think the programme was adding even more games.

02:57And for example, like City games, they play on Sunday and Tuesday.

03:01This was not even flexible.

03:04So it could move probably for the guys to play Wednesday instead of Tuesday.

03:10But it's not fixable.

03:12So we are not flexible.

03:14I think this is what we are talking about.

03:16It's normal that everybody gets injured and there's a high risk of injury.

03:23I think it's not fair, I would say.

03:25And also I think Roderick would say the right thing.

03:30We play maybe 50, 60 games and not more than 70 games.

03:35I think this is not fair.

03:37So if there are more games, and this is a personal question,

03:40I'll tell you that, it's a personal question.

03:43If there are too many games, and there are only going to be more added,

03:46would you be in favour of going on strike?

03:48Because that's the only way players are putting their view forward.

03:52No, I mean, you want to go to the final and play a lot of games.

03:56That's a different scenario.

03:59But what I want to say is that the platform, for example,

04:04we are talking about the Champions League,

04:05you change the platform to play even more games.

04:09And I think this is not right to look after the players.

04:13That's what we are talking about.

04:16And what we can do is we definitely can change about it,

04:20and we can definitely go in a good way

04:25that people can look after the players.

04:30Sonny, I know Ange spoke about this topic last night,

04:33and so did Daniel Levy.

04:35So it feels like everyone at the club is on the same page

04:38when it comes to too many games.

04:40What's the solution if it's not a strike?

04:43Whose responsibility do you think it is?

04:46It's not definitely players.

04:48It's not the players?

04:49Not the players.

04:51When the fixture comes, the player has to play,

04:53the players have to be on the pitch.

04:57There's a lot going on, you know.

05:00UEFA and also international football, FIFA,

05:04and everybody has to take this really seriously.

05:08It's not just random, like only a few players came out,

05:14it's way too many games.

05:16What we want to see, as I said before,

05:18I think what we want to see is the quality of the game.

05:21You want to see high quality of games

05:24and top games with top players.

05:28So I think this should be the aim.

05:30Obviously, injury sometimes comes also with less games,

05:33but with the possibility of a lot of travelling,

05:38a lot of games, it will be higher than when you play less games.

05:47Hi, Sonny.

05:49You're a legend of this club, you've been here for a long, long time,

05:53but we believe that you have...

05:56At the moment, your contract is up at the end of the season.

05:58We think you've got an option for another year.

06:00Can you clarify what the situation is?

06:02Will you be signing a new contract, or has it been triggered already?

06:06Yeah, we haven't talked anything yet,

06:08so I think I said in the fan forum, it was very clear for me,

06:13it's just like I'm very focused for this season.

06:15At this age, every second is like a goal, you know?

06:23So for this season, we are in a lot of competition.

06:28It feels like I'm taking even more care about this,

06:34and just as I say, I think I'm just fully focused on this situation,

06:38and this year, I just want to win something that everybody in this club,

06:43and these players, and all around that deserves,

06:48and that's what I'm working for.

06:50In the future, you never know what's going to happen,

06:54but I will make sure that I give everything for this club,

06:58because it's been almost 10 years that I give everything,

07:02so yeah, we'll see what happens.

07:05I still have a contract with the club, which is mainly a very important thing,

07:10and then I just want to give everything that I have until my contract.

07:16You mentioned 10 years at the club.

07:18You're now the captain, you're one of the older players.

07:20There's a lot of younger players, teenagers that have come in now.

07:24I just wondered, what's the difference compared to when you were their age,

07:28with the younger players of today?

07:32I think when you're a younger player, when you are young,

07:36you don't realise how massively that takes their responsibility,

07:41but when you're a mainly older player, when you're on the squad,

07:47and then you see the young lads, and you just want to help them.

07:51You know what it means in the Premier League, or playing in these big clubs,

07:56and it changes so much in 10 years' time.

08:01I just want to be good friends, good team-mates,

08:08and just showing that I'm doing the right things on and off the pitch.

08:12It takes a lot of responsibility, but it's a joy,

08:18and we have some unbelievable players,

08:21but mainly 10 years has just gone way too fast,

08:26which sometimes makes me a little bit sad.

08:29But, yeah, what can I say?

08:32Just do the right things, be a good example,

08:36a good example to every young player, to be a top professional.

08:42Hi, Sonny. I was going to ask you about one of those young players, actually, Mikey Moore.

08:45The fans are hoping to maybe see a bit of him tomorrow night.

08:48First off, how good can he be if he keeps working hard?

08:52And also, as his captain and a fellow winger,

08:56do you play a little role in mentoring him and things like that?

08:59Yeah, he's a fantastic boy, and obviously, when he's coming from academy,

09:07as a club, you look after him even more.

09:12Everybody is just so welcoming and looking after him,

09:15and so do I, because he's such a lovely kid,

09:18and working hard every single day, coming with the first team at that age,

09:23it's not easy.

09:25Sometimes you're very shy, but he's showing a good personality

09:29and working hard, which is very important to me.

09:32And when you see the young players working hard in the first team,

09:37you just want to help him.

09:41When I was young, and now who's coaching in Manchester United,

09:47Rufus Anisaroy was helping me a lot in Hamburg.

09:51Now I want to be that guy as well,

09:55having him around me and just talking to him,

09:58because we're playing in a similar position,

10:00if I can help him a little bit with advice, I'm always open to it.

10:06Mikey is also coming to me most of the time and asking questions,

10:10which is very fun and a joy to talk to him.

10:14He's a fantastic boy, and I'm definitely sure he can be a fantastic player.

10:21There's no doubt, because he has such amazing quality.

10:25But as we always say, as young players,

10:29let's not put too much pressure on his shoulders,

10:32just let's enjoy how he develops improvement every single day,

10:37every single season.

10:39As a fan, as a supporter, we should just enjoy watching him,

10:43and he will be, I think, one of the top players.

10:48I spoke to Deki Kudasevsky a couple of months back.

10:51He said he's had to really adapt his game as a winger.

10:54Obviously, he's now playing more in the midfield,

10:56but as a winger, he had to adapt to play the Ange-Postokoglou system.

10:59Have you found that?

11:00Because it's a very kind of high and wide winger he likes,

11:03but obviously you, like Deki, like to cut inside as much as you can as well.

11:07No, I think it's all about the manager system,

11:11and you just also have to adapt, which is very, very important.

11:14But it doesn't mean that I have to stay all the time in the wide area.

11:18In the last game, I was cutting inside to make these inside runs,

11:23and when Dom comes in a deep position,

11:29when he tracks the centre-backs out of the position,

11:31then I'll make these space runs.

11:32And I think it's all about depending on the situation.

11:36But Deki is the kind of guy who wants to be in the middle more,

11:41that he can handle the ball really well with the back of the opponent.

11:45And I think that's his game, and he's just enjoying it now.

11:51He's at the moment having a great season.

11:54What everybody is not talking about is that Deki's work rate is unbelievable,

12:01that he's everywhere on the pitch.

12:04But I think people have never seen that.

12:07But Deki works really hard.

12:11I think it's so hard when I see all the data,

12:15and sometimes I get shocked.

12:17So it feels like he never stops running.

12:20So I think players all appreciate what he does,

12:24and with the ball, with the quality that he has,

12:27there is no doubt that he can do every position.

12:31As a manager, I think he can put himself anywhere,

12:36that he does the right thing for what he asks for.

12:40So there is no doubt what he does, and he's doing amazing at the moment.

12:45We'll just have one question from Jay.

12:47Thank you. Hi, Son.

12:49I just wanted to ask you about your relationship with Rodrigo Bentancur

12:52after what happened in the summer,

12:54and just for your reaction now that he's been charged by the FA, if that's OK.

12:58Yeah, to be fair, at the moment, I'm from the FA, the processor.

13:02That's why I can't say much about it,

13:04but I love Rodrigo a bit.

13:07I love him. I love him.

13:09We had a lot of good memories.

13:12We started playing together when he joined,

13:15and, you know, he knew he apologized straight afterwards,

13:22you know, when we had a holiday.

13:25I was at home, and I didn't even realize

13:28what was going on, and he just sent me a long text message

13:31that you could feel that it was coming from his heart, you know?

13:35And afterwards, when he came back to the training ground for the pre-season,

13:41he just felt really sorry, and he almost cried when he said he apologized

13:47in public and also personally as well.

13:50But he felt like he felt really sorry.

13:55We're all human, we make mistakes, which we learn from it.

13:58But I love Rodrigo a bit, and I love him.

14:02I love him, and he knows he made a mistake.

14:05But I have no problem at all, which is we move on as a team-mate, as a friend,

14:12and also as a brother, we move on together.

14:14And, yeah, I hope...

14:19Yeah, I just have to wait for the FA's process,

14:23but I can't say much.

14:25One thing I can say is that I love Rodrigo, so there's nothing more to say.

14:32Right, thank you very much.

14:36Well done.

14:37Good luck.

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