‘It’s all about us going to the next level, and I love that’ – Victor

Victor Wanyama was in for a pleasant surprise when he first sat down in the Spurs dressing room following his switch from Southampton last summer.

“When I arrived here I thought all the talk would be ‘last season we finished third’ and I thought the players would be talking about last season a lot but all I was hearing was ‘how can we improve and go to the next level?’ and I love that,” said the midfielder, who has been such a key addition to that squad this season.

The team is always looking forward. “If we play and win 6-0, the next day you don’t hear people talking about that game, you just hear them talking about the next game,” added Victor. “It’s always ‘how can we win the next game?’ and the players just think about the next game.”

Born in Kenya, Victor initially caught the eye at Belgian side Beerschot AC. He moved to Celtic in 2011, helped them to two Scottish titles and scored in a famous win in the Champions League against Barcelona before joining a certain Mauricio Pochettino at Southampton in July, 2013.

“Southampton are a great club and it was a big step because the Premier League was a test for me with the pace and the physicality,” said Victor. “I needed to adjust and it took me six months. After that, I was able to click and perform.”

He did just that and after three seasons at St Mary’s, Victor hooked up again with Mauricio at Spurs.

Nine months on, he has proved a huge hit at Spurs with team-mates and fans alike, scoring the winner on his home debut against Crystal Palace and still ever-present 27 matches into the Premier League campaign.

“I’m improving game by game and learning a lot as a player because I believe you learn in every game,” he said. “I’m at the right club and going in the right direction. We all want to bring the glory back to the club and hopefully we can achieve that.”

Look out for more from Victor on Saturday as he talks about the influence of Mauricio Pochettino...