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Tottenham hero James Maddison speaks out after appearing to fire back at Roy Keane's 'cuckoo land' jibe when celebrating winning goal vs Man Utd

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Article continues below

Article continues below

  • Maddison hit back at Keane
  • United legend criticised the Spurs star
  • Postecoglou came to Maddison's defence
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    WHAT HAPPENED?

    The England international scored the first and the only goal of the match in the 13th minute following a mistake from Andre Onana. After breaking the deadlock, Maddison performed a new version of his famous 'Darts Celebration' as he looked down on a TV camera, made a gesture with his hand in a position to throw a dart and then made a shushing gesture with his finger on his lips. It was seen as a response to criticism from Roy Keane, who had said on The Overlap, brought to you by Sky Bet: "We saw Maddison at Tamworth, he was taken off. Tamworth are non-league. People say Maddison’s the man. When is he going to step up to the plate? He got relegated with Leicester and he’ll get relegated with Spurs. Maddison isn’t bad when he’s not at the darts, but let me tell you, if you think he’s going to come back and get Spurs into the top six, you’re in cuckoo land.

    "He’s good, he’s a talented player. But if you’re a player in the Spurs dressing room and Maddison’s back in the squad, you wouldn’t be looking and going 'oh Jesus – he’s back today. We’re going to be fine'. England have a squad of 300 and he can’t even get in that. You kid yourselves everybody."

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  • WHAT JAMES MADDISON SAID

    Speaking to Sky Sports after the match, the Spurs hero said when asked about the meaning behind his celebration: "I've always been a goalscoring midfielder. That's why Spurs brought me to the club. I'm there to be that creative outlet and score goals. There was a little bit of outside noise this week. People will have their opinions. Nobody is more critical of me than myself. The gaffer prefers when we are in our own bubble but it's difficult with social media, you see this stuff."

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    THE BIGGER PICTURE

    Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou also shared his opinion on Keane's criticism as he added: "Everyone has mentioned his celebration. It doesn't surprise me that Madders didn't accept what was said about him and shot back. He's a quality player and if you look at his goal return this season it is quality."

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    WHAT NEXT FOR TOTTENHAM?

    The Lilywhites will be back in action next Saturday in the Premier League as they take on Ipswich Town away from home.