Tottenham's Moussa Sissoko has claimed he never considered leaving the club, despite struggling to make an impact during his first two seasons.
Sissoko joined Tottenham on deadline day in August 2016, having been on the verge of a move to Everton before Spurs secured his signing from Newcastle United for a reported £30million.
The midfielder initially failed to cement a place in Mauricio Pochettino's side and was often criticised by Tottenham's fans following the big-money move, but he has become a first-team regular this term.
Sissoko has revealed that, despite his struggles, he never considered pushing for a move away from Tottenham.
"The best thing I have done is to be strong mentally." he told the Guardian.
"I never give up. In life, you never have to go with your head down. You have to look forward, try to improve, keep fighting and one day the thing will change.
"I never wanted to leave Spurs. I knew that I could have success here.
"I don't know if the criticism was unfair. Football is like that. It's why I wasn't upset by it. I was upset because I wasn't doing what I wanted to be doing.
"I had to keep working and I believe I can do better than what I am doing now."
Sissoko signed for Tottenham on the back of an impressive string of performances in France's run to the final of Euro 2016, but the 29-year-old missed out on Didier Deschamps' squad for Les Bleus' triumphant World Cup 2018 campaign.
"I won't lie and say it wasn't painful not to be part of the squad," Sissoko said.
"So it was extra motivation to perform and show I could be in the squad. I played a lot of games with them and then not to be in the World Cup – it was painful.
"But it's like that. I'm not regretting. It's gone. You have to accept the manager has made his choice, and I was very happy when they won."
