Tottenham: Doherty sure Mourinho will take him to 'the next level'
Having Jose Mourinho as manager and an impressive stadium have delighted new signing Matt Doherty after his move to Tottenham.
Matt Doherty says his initial discussions with new manager Jose Mourinho have made him desperate to pull on the Tottenham shirt. The Republic of Ireland international completed his move from Wolves, worth a reported £14.7million, by signing a four-year deal on Sunday.
Doherty relishing new challenge
Doherty feels the switch has taken his career to the next level after 10 years with Wolves saw him play in League One and the Championship before their recent impact in the Premier League and Europa League.
"I'm going on international duty now and when I get back it is going to be the first week of the season so I've got to get training, get used to things and get used to the players," the 28-year-old told Spurs' website. "I hope to hit the ground running and I'm sure when I meet all the players they will be welcoming – I've seen five or six of them already. I spoke to the manager and obviously there was a friendly yesterday, but the way he was speaking to me, I wanted to travel down and play in the game! That is how excited he made me feel about coming here. The first game of the season is two weeks away now so I absolutely can't wait to get going."
The presence of Mourinho and some magnificent facilities have enthused Doherty after he joined midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and goalkeeper Joe Hart as new arrivals at Spurs in this transfer window.
Spurs move was a no-brainer
He added: "I'm extremely happy – I guess if the people could see what we were just doing [in my photoshoot] with smiles on my face the whole time – I'm very proud to be joining such a big club. With the size of the club, the training ground, the fact that we've got the best stadium in the world and possibly the best training ground in the world from what I've seen – and the manager – once I knew there was interest it was a no-brainer for me to get myself down to London. At Wolves I just had all the experiences – disappointment and then obviously getting promoted and stuff like that, but then taking it to the next level and getting into Europe as well. It made me stay quite level-headed throughout my time there, but now I just feel like coming here is going to take my game and my career to the next level. It would have been tough [to leave Wolves] if I was maybe going backwards or sideways but I feel like at Tottenham now I'm really taking a big step forward – just with the facilities, everything at the club and the manager here. After 10 years, I know a lot of people at Wolves but it's a new challenge now and really a challenge that I feel like I need at this time. I'll give absolutely everything I can for this club."