Kyle Walker-Peters believes he has already faced the toughest mental hurdle of his career even though he is just 21.
The right-back was handed his first Champions League start in dream circumstances as Tottenham went to the Nou Camp trying to secure their progression to the next stage.
But it quickly turned into a nightmare as he was robbed of possession inside the opening 10 minutes by Barcelona forward Ousmane Dembele, who raced clear and scored.
He later picked up a booking and then was sacrificed in the second half as Spurs chased an equaliser that ultimately secured a last-16 tie against Borussia Dortmund.
It came just 24 hours after signing a new five-year contract and Walker-Peters believes producing such a high-profile mistake will be as tough as it gets in his career.
āI learnt a lot about myself,ā he said. āTwo seconds after making the mistake, I was thinking, āYou know, make sure you donāt die on the pitch!ā
āBut I think I went on to actually play quite well. I think Iāve got a good amount of mental toughness, to be able to do that. But again, itās all a learning curve for me.
āEspecially coming in the Champions League, in a stadium like that against such a good team. To be able to look past thatā¦ also with the help of my team-mates straight away.
āDanny Rose came straight over to me and said, āKeep goingā. Harry Kane as well, he said a few things to me. As we went to take the kick-off he just said, āKeep going. Thereās plenty of timeā.
āThat gave me confidence and thatās why I went on to play quite well.
āItās always going to happen once in your career. Now itās happened I feel like I know how to deal with it. If it ever happens again ā touch wood it doesnāt ā Iāll know how to respond.ā
With Kieran Trippier having to manage a groin problem and Serge Aurier also suffering from injury, Walker-Peters could get plenty of game-time as Spursā punishing fixture schedule continues.
Boss Mauricio Pochettino admitted Walker-Peters is a full part of his squad and he could get the nod in Wednesdayās Carabao Cup game at rivals Arsenal.
āIf I get the opportunity, of course Iād be buzzing to play in the north London derby,ā he said. āI saw another young player do it a few weeks ago ā Juan (Foyth) ā and he did really well.
āIf I get the opportunity, Iād be really buzzing. All I can do is appreciate that (Pochettinoās comments).
āThat starts on the training pitch by showing him every day that Iām willing to keep working, keep improving. Those words from the gaffer always help, especially as a young player hearing your manager has faith in you.ā
Comments & Moderation
Readersā comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readersā comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the āreport this postā link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here