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Nick Montgomery has lifted the lid on the work ethic of two Tottenham youngsters, admitting that their commitment in training is so relentless they sometimes have to be forced to stop.
Tottenham Hotspur have been undergoing a period of upheaval both on and off the pitch, with the dismissal of Ange Postecoglou marking one of the biggest recent changes at the club.
The former Tottenham boss did not depart on his own, as key members of his backroom team were also let go, including Mile Jedinak and Nick Montgomery, who were closely involved during his time in north London.
Both Jedinak and Montgomery have since joined Postecoglou in his swift return to the Premier League, but during a recent podcast appearance, Montgomery shared a telling insight into the attitude of one highly regarded Spurs youngster.
Montgomery praises Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall’s work ethic
Speaking on the Training Ground Guru podcast, Montgomery highlighted Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall as two players whose application in training stands out above the rest at Tottenham.
The coach explained that both youngsters possess a brilliant mentality, stressing that Gray in particular often stays behind to put in extra work in the gym long after the regular sessions have ended.
Montgomery went on to reveal that their desire to improve is so strong that at times they actually have to be pulled off the training ground because they simply refuse to stop. As he told the podcast, via quotes shared by the host:
“Yeah, I think they are two of many. There are a lot of young players now around the Premier League that are coming in. But obviously Archie is an English player coming from Leeds and Lucas coming from Sweden.
“But to work with those two players, I think people always ask what is the biggest difference. For me, it is always the mindset, it is always the belief, and obviously the ability is one thing, but the attitude has to be spot on every day. You look at them, they are always in the gym, always doing extras, whether it is training, you have to pull them off the training ground.
“And looking at both of them last season, playing 50-odd games each and winning the Europa League in their first season of Premier League football, it is an amazing start for them and hopefully they continue to progress.”
Archie Gray backed for midfield role at Tottenham
Montgomery did not stop there, as he also gave his personal view on Archie Gray’s best position, offering insight into where he believes the £40m youngster will flourish most in the long run.
Gray has already shown his versatility by operating in defence for both Tottenham and Leeds, yet Montgomery feels that his natural qualities make him far more suited to midfield, which is where he expects him to make the biggest impact.
Expanding on his point, Montgomery said: “Yeah, I think Archie has always been a midfielder, but I think his problem is he is such an honest player that he will play in any position, he will play anywhere to get into the team.
“Obviously coming from Leeds when he arrived, he played a lot at full back, sort of running inside as a midfielder. And obviously at Tottenham as well, he played at centre back quite a lot this season because we had so many injuries.
“So to think that for most of the season Archie was playing left centre back, right footed, against the best players in the world in the Premier League, while being a midfielder in his first season, he just got on with it. Like I said, his attitude was amazing and it was a privilege to see him progress and to work with him.”
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