Ange Postecoglou has opened up on a chat he had with Tottenham midfielder Yves Bissouma that proved to be prophetic.
The 28-year-old Spurs star has had a difficult campaign which began back in August last year with a club suspension after filming himself inhaling nitrous oxide and then as the season wore on he struggled to command a regular place in the team and was eventually ousted by teenage newcomer Lucas Bergvall.
Bissouma has started only 16 Premier League matches this season and just six of Tottenham's 14 Europa League games so far. However, with Bergvall's recent ankle injury so the Mali international has stepped back into the fold and has done so with impressive displays in the past three matches, particularly in the two Europa League semi-final legs against Bodo/Glimt.
Postecoglou revealed to football.london on Saturday that he had spoken to Bissouma a month ago when he felt like the chance was about to arrive for the former Brighton man.
"He is a different cat, Yves. Fair to say. I love him though because he has had his own issues this year. I spoke to him about a month ago," he said. "He was in and out of the team. I just had a feeling in my gut. I said: ‘Biss, we are going to need you at the crucial time. I don’t know when that is going to be but we are going to need you and if we get the best Biss we can do something special.’
"He has delivered. Through that time he never put his head down and complained. He knew that he could be doing better and he wanted to push on. So I'm really proud of him and the way he has handled everything this year."
football.london asked Postecoglou whether there was any chance of Bergvall returning ahead of schedule for the Europa League final in Bilbao on May 21 against Manchester United.
"That is unlikely. If we had another two weeks, potentially he could. I am sure he will be trying, I am sure Madders will be trying mate just to get the strip on," said the Australian. "Unfortunate for both of those guys, but that has been our season. Nothing has run smooth.
"I am sure there will be parts of themselves really disappointed they are not part of this most important part, but they have been so integral to us getting here. As I mentioned after the game, I don't think there is a single player in the dressing room who hasn’t contributed to help us get to where we have got to today and should we have success, we'll make sure they get acknowledged in the right way."