Dele Alli and Spurs team-mates take on 100 local kids in Shanghai training with England ace raring to go after injury-plagued season
DELE ALLI and his Tottenham team-mates prepared for Thursday's friendly with Manchester United by taking on 100 local youngsters in China.
England ace Alli, 23, is ready to put a season of injury misery behind him as he looks forward to the new campaign after a summer's rest.
And he had plenty of energy as he enjoyed a kickabout with the kids in Shanghai after a training session with the Tottenham coaches.
Pochettino's men, who beat Juventus 3-2 this weekend, took the time to greet their fans and even posed for selfies.
Alli appeared in high spirits as he looks to bounce back after a disappointing 2018/19 campaign.
A recurring hamstring problem saw him out of action for a total of three months in three different spells on the sidelines between September and March.
It meant the Spurs and England star was sidelined more than any other campaign in his career and admits it was tough not just physically but mentally.
Alli, who scored just seven goals last season, said: “It was obviously a difficult season for me in terms of injuries. It was the most injuries I've ever had in one season.
“It's tough not just physically but mentally as well. You have to dig deep.
"Sitting in the treatment room and watching the lads train and watching at games is not nice. It's not nice to be on the sidelines.
"You obviously want to be out there helping your team. We had a great season as a team but individually I was disappointed to get the injuries. I've got to make sure that doesn't happen again.
“I've got to use it all to go forward and not think about it in a negative way.
"Every time I got injured, I was trying to come back as strong as I could, have a break and use the time to work on the things that weren't quite right, keep building and come back stronger.
"I feel like I've done that. I've got to keep working on those things throughout the season. I feel like I used the time well."
Alli and his team-mates are trying to put behind the heartbreak of their Champions League Final loss to Liverpool behind them, something that he admits is proving tough.
He said: "Obviously it was difficult to take, getting to the final and not getting over the line.
"We're disappointed as a team but we've got to try and use it as an advantage for next season.
"I think we're showing the direction the club's going.
"It was a great campaign but obviously it's heartbreaking not to have won it in the final.
"Like I said, we've got to take the positives and try and use it to drive us on this season.
“Use that hurt we felt after the game and that we're still feeling now when we think about it.
"We've just got to try and use that to drive us on as much as we can in the next season."
In just less than a year Alli also hopes to be part of a successful England team.
The Euro’s conclude in this country with the semi-finals and final at Wembley.
Alli said: “For England, we're heading in the right direction as well. It's very similar to here at Tottenham.
"We've got a young squad, we've been together a little while with the manager and it's exciting.
"We all want to play the same way which is good.
"There's a massive tournament coming up and we've got to keep making sure we prove we deserve to be in the team.
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"It's not going to be easy. It's exciting and I'm going to do as well as I can for my club and country."
Spurs, who could lose Danny Rose to PSG or Juve for £20million, take on United here in a sweltering Shanghai on Thursday.
Alli said: “We want to challenge ourselves against the top sides and Man United's a great team. It's another challenge and keep preparing for the start of the season.”
