Mathys Tel is determined not to rest on his laurels after delivering a coming-of-age performance in a Tottenham shirt at Stamford Bridge.

Tel has come in for major criticism after a poor start to the season, and the criticism has not only come from the media and the fan base, but also from his manager.

Earlier in the season, De Zerbi said that the Frenchman makes too many poor decisions in possession, even though he acknowledged the 21-year-old’s potential.

The Tottenham boss also had an animated argument with Tel following the draw against Everton earlier in the season, with the Italian clearly unhappy with the forward for the way he led the line.

The 46-year-old then left the youngster out of his matchday squad for the 3-2 loss against Aston Villa, which must have come as a major blow to his confidence.

Roberto De Zerbi believes in Mathys Tel at Tottenham

The Italian handed the French U21 international a start at Stamford Bridge, and he delivered what was arguably his best display in a Tottenham shirt.

Tel scored his first of the campaign with a brilliant solo effort, and the Spurs forward was the highest-rated player across the Premier League this week, as per StatMuse.

De Zerbi has now revealed why he gave some tough love to Tel, insisting that he believes more in him than the youngster does in himself.

When asked about Tel’s performance against Chelsea, the Tottenham boss told the club’s official website: “Yes, but he has to push, to push, to push, to keep going, because he’s a talent. He has to clean the last 30 metres, the last decision, the last pass, the shot. He has an unbelievable shot.

“I believe in Mathys, maybe more than he believes in himself. I think it’s a journey of this club. I think Tottenham is lucky, and me as a coach, I’m lucky, because we have a great group of players, as a quality, but also as a people. I think the future of this club can be important if we keep this mentality, these behaviours.”

Mathys Tel says he can do even better after latest Spurs performance

Far from basking in the glory of his best performance yet in the Premier League, the former Bayern Munich man is hungry to get even better, insisting that his best is yet to come.

Tel also spoke glowingly of the team’s performance at Stamford Bridge, adding that Spurs have the quality in their squad to achieve something special.

Speaking after the win in West London, the forward told tottenhamhotspur.com: “I’ve worked a lot on areas I had to work on. Today, it’s a step forward. As a team, it’s a step forward, but also for myself. I’m very happy about my performance today. I think that I can still do better. I can always do better. I need to work, work, work, work and keep going.

“I was very happy about the way we played. We showed that even if it’s a big team in front of us, we can play, we can keep the ball, we can stay calm on the ball. We have a lot of qualities in this team. The manager already told everybody that there is quality. We just needed time to create something together and I think that today is a step forward. We have to be humble and keep going, but I’m very happy, very, very happy!”