Ben Davies has been explaining why his new role at Tottenham Hotspur under Antonio Conte has been getting the best out of him until his bout of Covid this month. The 28-year-old has found a new lease of life at Spurs in his role on the left side of the Italian’s back three, with a string of good performances. While Davies has played on the left of a back three for Wales before, this role under Conte is different with a regular need to get up the pitch and add to the numbers when Tottenham attack.
Ben Davies said: “It’s somewhere I really enjoy playing. Having played there for Wales, when the manager was coming in, and having seen him play that system previously, I was very hopeful that I could do a job in that position for him. I think that position probably gets the best out of me with my best attributes. In that position, I feel like I can defend pretty well, be solid and read the game well, and I’m not necessarily expected to go and beat people one-v-one, which is probably not the strongest part of my game. I prefer to be able to see the game, pass the ball and make better runs, and so I think it suits me well. Antonio’s probably seen a lot of football, seen me play in that position for the national team and so was aware that I could play there. I’ve now played there in the first few games, but I haven’t played that role a lot in my career, so now I need to just keep picking up little things here and there to get a bit more used to it and a bit more comfortable with It. I’m feeling good in that position though.”
On that attacking side of the role,
Ben Davies added: “I think when you play against teams who defend a bit deeper against us, the manager said that a centre-back has to be the one to try to break the line and get into the box as much as they can. The opposition then has to make a decision as to who is going to pick me up if I step in and, if they sort it out quickly, then it isn’t always a viable way of attack but, if they don’t and they are debating about who’s going to take that player, then you can get that moment of freedom, or it can open up the space for somebody else. Given the way the system has been set up, I think it has worked out quite well so far.”
One thing has interrupted Davies’ progress this month and that was a Covid outbreak within the camp, with the Welshman among those nine first team players testing positive. He explained his experience and what it was like during that period with Tottenham having three consecutive matches postponed.
Ben Davies said: “I had COVID a couple of weeks ago, so it was a bit of a stinker. I was quite rough for four or five days where I couldn’t really do anything. I was very tired, very achy and stuff, but, after that, I was fine. I was very glad that I’ve had the vaccine. I think that helped me to not get hit too hard to be honest. At the end of it all, I don’t think I lost too much fitness. It was just unfortunate that some of us got it during that period and, while the last couple of weeks have been a bit stop-start, primarily, everyone needs to be healthy. We had to make sure everyone was alright – that was first and foremost. After that, we just wanted to get back into the swing of things and try to get back playing again as normal as we can and we can’t be too disappointed or frustrated with the period as we know we’ll have the chance to play those games again later on in the season.”
Away from football it was revealed recently that Davies had, off his own back, studied towards and earned a degree in Economics and Business with the Open University. He started it five years ago and in between his day job as a Premier League footballer managed to achieve an upper second class honours degree.
Ben Davies said: “I was awarded it last summer. I got a 2:1 in Economics and Business so I was very happy. I had been doing it for the last five years with the Open University because you can do your modules at your own pace, you don’t have to rush through them at any point. It’s something that’s kept me occupied away from the pitch and I enjoyed doing it. I’ve always been into numbers. I did a Maths A-Level when I was playing at Swansea. I got that and then had a couple of years when I wasn’t doing anything academical but, when I was 23, I started the degree. It was just something that interested me, I stuck to it, and I did quite well in the end. We’re very lucky as footballers. I just wanted to be in a position where I understood the world around me a bit better and how things worked. I didn’t want to have to rely on other people to help me along the way. So, getting that understanding of global economics, I found it quite interesting, and it was something I wanted to do. It is a tough subject. There is a lot of theory and detail to it but I’m very glad that I’ve done it. It’s good to have it under my belt and it was also something I had at the back of my mind that maybe I would want to do something after football and having that skillset, that knowledge, can take you down many different paths. I learned a lot while doing it and I think I’m in a much better place now than I was when I started it. If I want to stay in football, having that understanding of how it all works, how the world works, how finance works, it puts you in good stead.”
