Son: 'I always want to give everything'

As we gear up for our return to Premier League action at home to Stoke City this weekend, Heung-Min Son says making an impact is his primary target in every game he plays – whether he starts or comes off the bench.

The South Korean international gave us a fresh attacking spark after being introduced as a substitute in Thursday night’s Europa League clash with KAA Gent, using his pace and dribbling to work openings in the Belgian side’s defence as we chased the tie at Wembley.

He certainly seemed to have a positive effect on the game as Victor Wanyama fired home shortly after his arrival and a comeback looked to be on the cards as we battled valiantly with 10 men.

Unfortunately, Jeremy Perbet’s goal on the counter-attack put matters beyond us and gave Gent a 3-2 aggregate victory but, in philosophical mood after the dust had settled at the national stadium, Sonny insisted that he remains hungry to make a difference whenever he’s in action.

“I try to do everything,” he said. “If I play bad or good, it’s not good enough for me. I just try to give my best, more than 100 per cent and try to help my team-mates.

“Whether I come on or I’m in the starting XI, I try to give my all. Sometimes it’s not going well but I try – I think this is very important.”

Another game which saw Sonny really make his mark this season was our 4-0 victory at Stoke in September, when he scored twice on the way to claiming the Premier League EA SPORTS Player of the Month award.

Looking ahead to Sunday’s return match at White Hart Lane (kick-off 1.30pm), he added: “We’ll try to get the three points but it’s not going to be easy. We play at White Hart Lane so we have to take confidence from the games before and we should be able to perform well.”