Maddison on showing 'fight and desire' to succeed for our fans ahead of Chelsea
James Maddison says our supporters are at the heart of the side's motivation to succeed heading into Tuesday night's London derby at Chelsea in the Premier League.
Our number 10 ended his 277-day absence from an ACL rupture when he came on in the 82nd minute in the 1-1 draw with Leeds United last time out. A result which stretched our unbeaten run to four matches and moved us two points clear of 18th-placed West Ham United.
Named in his first matchday squad of the season in the 2-2 home draw with Brighton that started the run, 'Madders' then travelled with the group despite not being ready to play in subsequent away victories over Wolverhampton Wanderers and Aston Villa before making his comeback late on at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The 29-year-old was grateful for his rousing reception in N17 last Monday and our fans have continued to give their all to help the team during this run-in. With two league games remaining - two points and a game in hand over West Ham - we now head into a defining clash at Stamford Bridge with destiny in our hands.
No extra motivation is needed for this London derby and the creative midfielder understands the responsibility players carry in matches of this magnitude - not just to deliver a result, but for fans to see a team willing to leave everything on the pitch.
"Momentum is such a big thing in football, and we've got a little bit of it at the minute, but using that and keeping that and using that as fuel," he said.
"The absolute bare minimum is giving 110% for the last two games to get over the line because they (the fans) deserve that.
"It's really important that we show them that fight, that desire and that willingness to want to succeed for them and for this club. That should be there for all to see in the last two games."