Sunday 22 November 2015 10:25, UK
Mousa Dembele claims leaving Tottenham never crossed his mind last season, even when he was out of favour with Mauricio Pochettino.
The Belgium midfielder made 40 appearances for Spurs in the 2014/15 campaign but only managed 10 starts in the Premier League, where the majority of his outings came from the bench.
Injuries, including a troublesome hip, have played their part but at times it seemed he did not fit into Pochettino's style of play. This season, however, Dembele has cemented his place in a more offensive role in Tottenham's attacking three and has scored three goals in his last four matches.
It marks quite the turnaround for a player who said in March that his lack of game time had been "very disappointing" - but Dembele insists he never considered a transfer.
"Last year I played less so it is normal there are a lot of rumours. I told the club that they were not true," Dembele said.
"Of course I want to be more important for the team and I want to play more. I am not someone who, if I am not playing like last year, that I want to go quickly. They understand this.
"But it has never been in my mind to leave the club. I am very happy here, even last year when I was not playing I wanted to show I can play. I am not looking to leave Tottenham, I just want to be important for the team at the moment."
Spurs are unbeaten in 11 league matches ahead of Sunday's derby against West Ham.
Much credit has been given to the team's young English contingent but there is a strong Belgian influence at White Hart Lane too, with Dembele, Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen and Nacer Chadli all key members of the squad.
Belgium have risen to the top of the FIFA world rankings ahead of Euro 2016 next summer and Dembele sees parallels between the progress at club and country.
"With Belgium we know we have a good team and that we have a lot of good players. We have confidence in our team, the same as we have at Tottenham," Dembele said.
"You have an atmosphere at Tottenham like - 'Okay, we are not scared of anyone' - and we have the same feeling with the national team. Everywhere we go at Tottenham, we have a good feeling. Before, in the past, it was not like this.
"It is nice to be around these kind of positive vibes. I couldn't have imagined Belgium being number one in the world."
Watch Tottenham v West Ham live on Sky Sports 1 HD from 3.30pm on Sunday.
