Friday 29 December 2017 12:16, UK
Dele Alli has admitted finding it difficult to maintain the high standard of form he has shown since joining Tottenham.
The 21-year-old had a sluggish start to his third campaign at the club but has recently begun to discover his best, picking up four assists and a goal in his last two Premier League games.
Alli, who is between agents and expected to join up with Jorge Mendes next year, says it is nice to prove his doubters wrong but insists he is his own harshest critic.
"My form is not really something I think about too much, but it's always nice to prove people wrong," Alli told the Daily Mail.
"At 21 years of age, when you set your standards as high as I did in the last two years, it's not always the case that you're going to be able to reach them all the time.
"Some people think if you're not scoring or assisting then you're playing badly, but I criticise myself all the time. I always think I can do better, I can do more for the team, so it's just about working on myself and my own game.
"People's opinions are changing all the time and you'd be more worried if the other fans liked you as a player. When your own fans start disliking you then it changes, and you think about it a bit more."
Alli was criticised for a heavy challenge on Burnley's Charlie Taylor has week but has suggested he will not change his aggressive nature in matches.
"We speak a lot," said Alli. "People can say what they want. The tackle at Burnley, you know we both went into it the same. The ref made a decision and that's the way it is.
"These things happen in football. I think you've just got to focus on yourself every game and look at what you can improve every game and training session."
