Vertonghen: 'I appreciate the fans - we've known each other for a while now!'

Jan Vertonghen wasn’t about to let a kick in training knock him off the top of his game.

The Belgian centre-half slotted straight back into the groove to help keep a clean sheet against Huddersfield Town on Saturday, having missed the wins over Crystal Palace and Rochdale last week due to a minor ankle knock, sustained the day before our trip to Selhurst Park.

Superb for us at the back all season, the Palace game represented the first time we’ve started a top flight match this campaign without Jan in the line-up – and our supporters were certainly happy to see him back and doing what he does best in our 2-0 victory over the Terriers at Wembley.

“In the end I was only out for five days – I just got a kick on my ankle but it’s all good now and I’m happy to be back,” said the defender, who even had a headed goal chalked off for off-side on Saturday.

“I missed two games and that’s a shame, but I feel very good, I appreciate the fans and it’s good to see that they appreciate me. We’ve known each other for a while now and it’s a good feeling!

“For me, I think it’s going very well, personally and obviously with the team too. I’m in good shape, I think I’ve been on top of my game for a couple of months now and I feel very good.”

Jan was keen to recognise the contributions of Heung-Min Son, after the South Korean attacker’s second brace in four days accounted for Huddersfield.

“The guy, for me, is unbelievable,” said Jan. “Always when he’s there, you can count on him. He works hard, scores goals, gives assists, gives great energy and, for me, he’s someone who sometimes should get more credit from the outside because in this team, everyone appreciates him a lot.”

On our latest shutout at the weekend, Jan added: “I think the team played very well. We’ve been defending very well, even one-v-one. We always try to get the ball back and have the possession in the opponents’ half and defensively it was another good performance.”