Recent debutant Kyle Walker-Peters has opened up on his ‘dream’ debut after having been named man of the match in yesterday’s 2-0 victory over Newcastle in Tottenham’s opening Premier League fixture of the new season.
The 20 year old was part of a solid back 4 that kept a clean sheet, greatly aiding in registering an all important opening day victory and sealing an impressive 3 points at the 52,000 capacity stadium St James’ Park.
After the final whistle, the youngster’s notably capable performance was rewarded with not only the man of the match award, but also ceremonious applause from the rest of the team when returning to his peers in the changing room.
In an interview with Tottenham’s official club website, the defender spoke out on the ‘excitement’ and ‘nerves’ he felt when he was told he’d be earning his first competitive appearance for the club. He said:
“I found out on Saturday during training, before we did some tactical work.”
“The initial feeling was excitement and a bit of nerves but today I just tried to keep cool and the boys helped me get through.”
“I had great support from the Spurs fans and that helps as well.”
The 20 year old then went on to discuss the game itself, revealing how proud he was to have earned the man of the match award on his debut.
“Newcastle targeted me from the start and that’s fair enough,” He added. “I was making my debut. I think I dealt with that quite well.”
“I won my first header and from there, you get a bit of confidence and the main thing was to get off to a good start in the Premier League.”
“I was delighted to get Man of the Match, it was a dream come true.”
“In my speech I just said thanks to the manager for having faith in me and thanks to all the players and staff for helping me get to that stage of my career.”
Walker-Peters kept his feet firmly on the ground however, and while looking to the future, he explained that he now must work hard to ensure that he retains that same level of performance every time he plays if he is to win himself more and more game-time opportunities.
“Now it’s time to kick on and keep improving,” He said. “I’ll keep training hard and hopefully I’ll get more opportunities. If I do, I hope to take them.”
“Every day you go out on the training pitch you have to prove to the manager and the players that they can trust you.”
“I’ve still got a long way to go and I’m not going to get ahead of myself, I’ll keep working hard.”
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