Yves Bissouma has opened up on his special words from Ange Postecoglou, his differences with Antonio Conte and his relationship with former Tottenham man Chris Hughton.

The Mali international has been in fine form this season, aside from a red card at Luton for two bookings and the fact that he will also miss Spurs' next game against Aston Villa after reaching five yellow cards. Overall though, Bissouma has been a dominant, key figure in Postecoglou's team and the difference between him this season and last has been like night and day and he puts that down mostly to the arrival of the Australian.

"Yes, it's a very, very big reason. It's a very big reason. You should know that six months before the end of last season I had already prepared for this season, because I am a fighter and I won't accept a situation if it remains negative. I take full responsibility when it's time to work to change things," said the 27-year-old in an in-depth interview on SpursPlay.

"So when I was injured, at the end of last season I was already preparing for this one, right? So I came in, there was a new coach. We see football the same way.

"He talks to me before training, he gives me all his trust, he explains. After that it's up to me to do things well. You have a coach who understands football, who tries to talk to you as well. It felt so nice! It has been a long time since anyone said anything to me.

"Sometimes you know you have something, but when people who know more than you tell you, it gives you even more confidence. I was already confident but what Ange told me was special. It changed something. You know?"

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Bissouma's first season at Tottenham after his £30m move from Brighton was a tough one. Conte signed him but soon stated publicly that the midfielder had to improve defensively and was struggling to take on his tactics. The player could not break into the Italian's team on a regular basis and then suffered a stress fracture to his left ankle halfway through the season that required surgery.

When asked about his differences in opinion on football to Conte, Bissouma said: "Yes, yes, Of course. It's true, there was a coach who I owe respect to, because he helped me sign with Tottenham, and that's it. We didn't see football the same way.

"We didn't see football the same way, but he was the coach, the boss and I have always shown him respect. Even now."

He added: "In hindsight I think I'd say it simply wasn't meant to be my season because you get a feeling before the season begins. When you get injured in the pre-season or you catch Covid, all of that was a bit of an indicator."

Bissouma does have a close connection with a former Tottenham man from earlier in his career. Hughton, who was a player and assistant manager at Spurs, was the manager of Brighton when Bissouma arrived in England as a 21-year-old and he looked after a youngster he could see was clearly a huge talent that just had to adapt to a very different country, culture and style of football.

"He is a beautiful person. I have wonderful memories of him because he is like a father to me. I remember he brought presents to my home. He knew it wasn't easy for me, that I had just arrived, that I was alone," said Bissouma.

"Sometimes he sent me gifts, messages, small things like that. He was really great with me, do you know what I mean? I also loved him as a coach because he was frank. He was direct. I arrived in England with the game style I had in France but it's different, in terms of intensity, of passion. The duels and the energy from the supporters. All of that is amazing."

So what next for the Tottenham midfielder?

"All I want is to play football and to enjoy it. It's all about football. If you play football and you don't enjoy it, to me that's useless. You have to enjoy it. It's a blessing, a chance for me to be here. How many people dream of being where I am? But I tell myself, I'm not only doing this for me, but also for the club, for the fans, for my family, for everyone," he explained.

"So I have to enjoy this moment because whether or not you like it, it won't last forever. I don't want to have regrets so I try to take the most from the game as it's the only place I'm fully in control."

When asked about his goals and ambitions in the interview, which was filmed a fortnight ago, he said: "That's between you and me! It's a secret. It's a secret. We're not going to reveal everything here. It's true, we take one match at a time. We don't try to put pressure on ourselves because as I told you, it's just football. I don't feel the pressure. We don't feel it in the team. We try to live every moment to its fullest.

"That means in training we give as much as possible. During the matches, we try to give everything. We know it's the Premier League, it won't be easy. There will be tough matches but we're focused on ourselves and I think that if we do everything we need to do we have a good chance of fulfilling our ambitions and our goals."

He added with a laugh: "Who doesn't dream of being top of the Premier League? If God decides that we win the title..."