James Maddison peels Angeball curtain back as former Celtic boss asks for only one thing from stars

James Maddison is pinching himself at how well things are going at Tottenham - and there's a disarmingly simple message from his manager behind it all.

Maddison has been one of Ange Postecoglou's key signings and his seven goal involvements in nine appearances have helped fire Spurs to the summit of the Premier League table. Whether or not they have the consistency to challenge Man City and Arsenal over a 38 game season remains to be seen but so far they're making a decent go of it.

The Aussie boss has won hearts and minds since moving from Celtic and his players have bought into it from day one. And Maddison says that's partly thanks to a simple demand he put on them in one of his first training sessions: 'Be a decent person and we'll get on fine.' The playmaker said on talkSPORT: “He has come in and had his way of playing and his methods. The way he wants us to train day-in, day-out is infectious.

"There’s not a day where you can go out and be half-hearted. Every day and every training session is intense, it’s hard and it’s his way, but we’re reaping the rewards of that on the pitch on a Saturday.

“The gaffer is a good man, first and foremost. The first thing he said to us on one of his first days was ‘be a decent human being and we’ll get along fine.’ That’s one of his morals and you can tell by the way he carries himself and he speaks to people that he’s a good man.

“He’s open, he’s honest and he’s straight to the point. He’s very direct and there’s no mucking about. That’s just refreshing. You don’t want managers who are giving mixed messages and having favourites. He’s a good, hard-working man, which is the foundation that he bases his teams off. It’s infectious to us players.”