Lamela's workrate puts him ahead of Townsend

Erik Lamela has had to handle a change of role at Tottenham and the mental challenges that that brings. We all know about his struggles in his first season and the price tag that is a noose around his neck, whatever he does people ask, was that worth £30 million.



He spoke recently with IBT Times as to the reasons behind his poor start.

"I don't know. Maybe it was my fault at some point but I never had the training sessions to do it better. There was a lack of training to [help me get] fit. This year, the sessions are helping me a lot and obviously the continuity of the games too. 

"There has been a big change from last season. I started last season without playing and never had the chance to do it. 

"The hard training sessions eventually make the difference in the long term. On the ground you can appreciate when a team is well-worked and you see it against Arsenal. We hope to keep the run and keep improving. We cannot relax. 

"I think I can give much more. This year I'm happy but I want to score more goals, provide more assists... I have to be ambitious. Obviously, I can give much more."

At Roma he was a star but at Tottenham he is just one of the players and that can mentally affect some players, Emmanuel Adebayor is a prime example, unless he feels like he is the main man he doesn't perform. He was as delighted as Harry Kane with the winner, he was no longer an outsider who struggles with the language but part of a team unit that knew the importance of the North London Derby. Perhaps Brad Friedel had had a word with him. On TalkSport he said this derby is not like the Liverpool Everton ones where families can support different sides, here there is hatred, there is a nasty edge to it.

What Lamela is doing at the moment s unsung. I was certainly critical of him and the club in his first season, mentally he was wrong, but now he has sorted that side of his game and he is a better player for it. His attitude now is one where he could go on and start to really show what he can do, mentally before that was almost impossible.

His rival for the place on the right is Andros Townsend who is getting better at being part of a team instead of an individual within a team. Townsend gives the ball away too often on the halfway line exposing us, Lamela doesn't.

What he is providing at the moment and why he is the first choice is his work rate. He harries, he tackles, he keeps the ball and his skill around the box is just starting to show signs of coming together. He looks more dangerous now and teams are clearly wary of him cutting in on his left foot as he generally has two or three defenders to contend with.

At the moment he isn't a star in the team but the reliable wide man, can he elevate himself back to star status? Only time will tell but while he keeps learning and keeps putting in the donkey work this system demands he'll stay ahead of Townsend in the pecking order.

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