James Maddison admits he loves one thing Lucas Bergvall has started doing behind the scenes at Spurs

James Maddison spoke to reporters on Wednesday afternoon ahead of the Europa League semi-final first leg against Bodo/Glimt and we've got every single word he said.

are looking to create something historic out of a season that has brought disappointment in the Premier League but some big performances in Europe. Now side with Maddison in the midfield has a chance to book their spot in the Europa League final in Bilbao next month if they can overcome their Norwegian opponents in the two legs ahead in the coming eight days.

held a press conference in front of the assembled media at Hotspur to discuss the big match this week, his form this season and that painful hit he took in the quarter-final second leg win in Frankfurt to earn the penalty that Dominic Solanke scored to send Spurs through. He also spoke about and Mathys Tel among plenty of other topics.

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Our Tottenham correspondent Alasdair Gold was among those putting the questions to Maddison and here's the full transcript from the press conference at Hotspur Way.

How big a game is this for you and the team?

It's huge. When you get to the end of your career and look back, there's probably not many times any player's been in a European semi-final. Maybe once, twice, a few times if you're lucky, if you're at the real big clubs. We have to use that that we're in the final four of a massive competition in Europe and use that as motivation to have a great tie on Thursday and away in Bodo the following Thursday. Because we've got a really special opportunity. There's obviously been a lot of talk about the form and it being quite a poor season but we still have the opportunity to do something very special. But we're in the last four of a European competition but you've earned that, you don't just get placed there. We deserve to be here so it's a challenge we're going to relish. It starts on Thursday night.

How easy is it to park the Premier League form for a game like this?

It's a balancing act and it's part of my role as a senior player. You want to feel the hurt and the embarrassment of how Sunday went. Because losing any game 5-1 is a little bit embarrassing and Liverpool obviously won the PL on the day, so it was a very negative day for us as a club. But my job as a senior player is to not accept the fact that we were poor and we can't go forward like that, because the league is important - it gives you the momentum to take into Europe. But also just trying to put it to one side and I said that post-match. Especially because we have a lot of young players you need positivity.

You need them to be feeling good and ready to go into Thursday. If we're dwelling on Sunday for too long, it's a quick turnaround, it's only a few days' preparation. So yeah, trying to get them feeling positive again and get a nice feel about the group. So like I said it's a balancing act. You want to feel the hurt of Sunday but it's a quick turnaround so it's my job as a senior player to get the positivity back into us as a group so we're ready for Thursday and can go in confident.

What have you made of Mathys Tel's development and Spurs have an option to buy him, would you pay £45m to sign him?

I haven't got £45m! He's been very good since he's come in, I think. When he first came in, we had a few injuries, so he was playing as a No9 and he's played off the left as well. Direct player. He's got good feet and he's very tricky. He can definitely be someone who scores goals. Sometimes you see wide players who are goal-scorers and wide players who are one-v-one specialists. The top players have both. I think he's definitely a goal-scorer, he can be a threat. And I think he's done well. He hasn't played an awful amount but recently he's been in the team more. For myself playing from that left side of midfield in central, we've grown a little bit more of a relationship and understanding of what kind of player he is. I know Sonny, I know what Sonny's going to do there, what I expect from him. I think that's grown with Matty off the left. I think there's a real good player there.

Is this Europa League run an opportunity you can't personally afford to waste?

Yeah, definitely I feel like that. I'm very motivated to help the team have success. We got to the semi-final of the Europa Conference League with Leicester and lost to Roma over two legs. Roma went on to win the competition under Jose Mourinho. And I remember the two legs very clearly. At the time, it was a few years ago, I probably didn't realise the magnitude of what we were trying to achieve until now. That's what gaining experience is, I guess, right? It's important for myself and the team that we're ready and we don't let any small details get in the way. It's a very important fixture for us.

Bodo are a small club - does that put more pressure on you guys?

I don’t think so. If you watch football, you’ve seen Bodo play over the last number of years. They’re always in Europe, aren’t they? They’re a team that pops up regularly in Europe. They played at United this year, they played at Arsenal, they’ve played at some of the big Italian clubs and they’ve had good results.

If you’re a fan of football and you watch European football, you’ll have seen them play, definitely. We’ve obviously done some preparation on them. You talk about their population (of 50,000) but that almost adds to their unity as a club and that kind of family feel.

We know it’s going to be tough. We’re not taking this game lightly at all, I can promise you that. We know it’s going to be a tough game, two legs, especially away from home but tomorrow is the home leg and we have to make them feel that.

But still this is their first year in the semi-final, every game is a bonus, and for you this is the last chance to do something big this year, how does it affect the dynamics?

I could probably just copy and paste the last answer, to be fair. I’ll reiterate: they’re in the last four. You can say anything is a bonus but they’ll be ready. They’re not going to turn up and be wowed by the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium because they’ve been to Old Trafford, they’ve played at Arsenal, they’ve had great results in Europe.

We’re not going to be lulled into the fact that they’re coming to a big stadium and be wowed by that. We know they’re going to be ready. We’ve seen it, we’ve watched the European clips, they’re a good team. We’re ready for them.

Can you talk to us about Ange Postecoglou, there's been a narrative about him during this difficult season and whether he stays, can you summarise the feeling within the camp?

We’re behind the manager 100 per cent. I think he’s a great man. He’s the first person to tell you and I’ll tell you myself we’ve had a poor season in the league. We’ve been very good in Europe but the league season has probably been unacceptable and we can all take a collective responsibility for that, but he’s my manager, he’s my gaffer, and I respect him an awful amount.

The narrative is something we players try and keep away from because it’s not healthy to read into what you lot are talking about the manager’s position. I just know I come into work every day and see the lads listening, taking on the messages, how he wants to play, and the coaches and trying to do what’s best for this club.

And, like I said, we’re in a very good position in Europe where we can still have a special season under his management, so I’ll continue to do that until the day he isn’t here. He is my manager and I respect him an awful amount and that will continue.

The supporters are embarrassed, hurt and angry. Do you owe them one in this competition, given what they’ve been going through?

They or we? We’ve been going through it.

Yeah but you’ve been putting them through it with the results in the league…

On purpose?

No but don’t you feel you owe them one?

We definitely want to them reward them for the support that they give us by creating something special because the League hasn’t been good enough, definitely. But it hurts us as well, let’s not create the narrative that…yes, it’s us players out there and we take responsibility for that. But it hurts me a lot that we’re having a poor season.

But this is why we’re so motivated for this competition because the season can still be so special. People talk all the time about Tottenham being without silverware for however many years, but we’re in the last four and we’ve got a great opportunity in a competition we’ve been pretty solid in this year.

Ok, maybe I worded it a bit wrong, but we want to reward them because we feel the support. At the end games and you’ve lost again, you over and you want to thank them for the support and I know they don’t want to hear it from us. Even this press conference and the interview on Sunday, they’re not really that bothered because words are just words. But it hurts and we’re trying to put it right. That’s the main thing, that hunger is there. It doesn’t always work how you want it to, but this is a unique situation that we’re in in the last four in Europe when we can go and reward them for their support because they do travel everywhere.

We are very grateful for that, even in the league position we’re in and we’ve got nothing to play for, they’re still selling out Liverpool away and we do appreciate that. They are supporting us. It hurts us as well. We’re not satisfied as well. We’re in this together.

How do you personally feel after some of the bad results like Liverpool?

I don’t feel personally responsible because it is collective. It is everyone. No-one in the whole club - from top to bottom - can be satisfied internally, to be satisfied with where we are. It definitely hurts. The hurt, it is a tough one. Like I said, I had to do an interview at Liverpool on Sunday and we have lost 5-1. It is a little bit embarrassing, I am a bit embarrassed myself and you have to go and talk.

And I know no-one actually wants to hear what I have got to say because they want to see the reaction. And get the reaction. And that is the chance we have on Thursday night which is the beauty of the quick turnaround because we can go and put it right on Thursday if we get a good result.

And then in seven days time we have got another massive game and if we get through that, we are in a European final so there are positives there. But we have got to go and do it and we have got to show them we are just as hungry as they are to win something.

You've played alongside Lucas Bergvall this season, in what ways has he developed and what's he been like behind the scenes in his first year in English football?

He was very keen to start - he was very enthusiastic like a little bee! He was just everywhere - on the pre-season tour you would turn the corner and he was just there, happy. I guess that’s the youthfulness of him. He’s a brilliant player and a fantastic talent, Tottenham have done amazingly well to get him to the club and to get him to sign a new contract which is brilliant for everyone at the club.

He's got some learning to do within the game, I guess, but he’s so young that that is fine. What he will have learned as well without even realising it … his journey this season which has just gone like that [points up] - it’s not been a gradual trajectory. He will have learned so much that next season he will be in a much better place in terms of what he has learned from the Premier League.

When he first came in, he was a big powerful boy but I don't think his body was up to the intensity of the league that we all know very well. Once he got to grips with that from playing so much because of the injuries that he has probably caught up quicker than you would have expected.

But the talent is there and he’s got a good head on his shoulders. He always means well and is always willing to learn. I always help him as much as I can because anyone who is willing to learn you want the best for. He’s not someone who has come in, got straight into the team and tried to have himself a little bit.

He’s kept grounded and he’s actually growing - I hear him demanding of other players and I love that. I love that he is in a place where he is confident enough to say to an older player, ‘come on’. I think that has obviously come from this season and the experience he has learned. So great future.

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