Archie Gray reveals a piece of advice from his father that has helped him bounce back from his biggest mistake in a Tottenham shirt.
Archie Gray has enjoyed five successive starts in the Tottenham Hotspur starting lineup, but things have not always gone to plan for the teenage midfielder.
Gray hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons after a 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest, due to being caught in possession for the hosts’ opening goal.
However, the England under-21 international has kept his head up and recovered from his mistake, most recently scoring the winning goal in Tottenham’s 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace.
Archie Gray reveals the advice that is helping him at Tottenham
Although some chose to blame Guglielmo Vicario for the error against Nottingham Forest, Gray has accepted full responsibility.
Rather than hiding away or playing it safe, Gray has continued to put himself in the spotlight and be involved in matches, and this is due to the advice he was given by his father.
Reflecting on the Nottingham Forest defeat, Gray told Tottenham Hotspur: “It was a difficult, difficult game for me at Forest.
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“I think the mistake, it was obviously my fault, but I just tried to get on the ball as much as I possibly could and tried to be positive.”
Gray has attempted to recover when he is knocked down and he continues to be inspired by what he was told by his father, who used to play in the Premier League.
“Today [the game against Crystal Palace] still wasn’t, you know, the best game, it was a bit of a scrappy game but to get the goal is something that every child dreams of,” he continued.
“My dad’s always said to me, ‘just go and get on the ball, don’t be scared’ and I think that stuck with me.
“After that mistake happened at Forest, I’d never go and hide from the ball or anything like that. It’s not something that I’ve ever done and ever will do. If I make a mistake, that’s football sometimes. I’ll just have to learn from that – and I have. I’ve been working in training every day to put it right.”
As for his goal, Gray said: “I just found myself in the right place at the right time. You know, it was probably Richy’s flick that did all the work. I was two yards out from goal, so I didn’t really have much to do. It’s an incredible feeling to get the goal and the three points, that’s the most important thing.”
Gray has a big opportunity at Spurs
Last season saw Gray given plenty of chances in the Spurs first-team, but this was in the centre-back position due to the many injuries affecting the Tottenham squad.
The 19-year-old is now starting as a midfielder, and this looks set to continue for the foreseeable future.
Lucas Bergvall is injured, Pape Matar Sarr is away at AFCON and Xavi Simons is still suspended, so Gray should get plenty of opportunities to build on his display against Palace.