Danny Rose has admitted he’s been below his best since making a loan move to St James’ Park in January.
The Spurs loanee believes he is not ‘getting up and down the pitch’ enough – suggesting he’s yet to regain his peak fitness levels – and also feels he’s not yet got tight enough to his man in a critical self assessment of his displays so far.
Here’s what he’s had to say during his chat with the Mirror’s Simon Bird, revealing how happy he is to be playing each week – but insisting that there’s more to come:
“I am over the moon I am playing every week. But if I am brutally honest and critical of myself I am not playing at the level I want to be in terms of getting up and down the pitch and getting tight to my man.
“It has been a difficult few months with not playing at Tottenham .
“I am getting in the groove again and better every game and hope soon to be giving 8, 9, 10 performances.
A refreshingly honest assessment from Rose and one I’d definitely agree with, with it seeming clear in his first few starts that he’s not yet fully fit – hence his reluctance to push too far up the pitch.
Here’s what he then had to say about our recent formation change and form heading into Saturday’s home clash with Sheffield United:
“We have changed to a back four. A back three can be tricky at times. It is difficult to know who takes responsibility on a man. You are losing a man in midfield. We have been solid with it. We have created against Burnley and won against Southampton and could have been three up.”
“We have built a gap (from the bottom three) and have a home game against Sheffield on a roll. Let’s make the most of it and get safe and them enjoy our football with more freedom.
“Sheff United’s manager Chris Wilder is no nonsense. He demands 100% every time they play and train. It is one team you don’t look forward to playing against.”
After helping us to back to back clean sheets in recent league games against Burnley and Southampton, let’s hope he can make it three in three when the Blades come to town on Saturday!
