July 28 (Reuters) - Tottenham Hotspur midfielder James Maddison said he is excited to work under new manager Roberto De Zerbi and believes the Italian's attacking approach will be a good fit for his game as the club prepares for a new Premier League campaign.
De Zerbi, 47, took charge in March after interim coach Igor Tudor was sacked and guided Spurs to Premier League safety, with the club finishing 17th after a final-day win over Everton.
"The manager is very clear. The goals are to be better, to play better football, to be passionate and to be proud to play for this club," Maddison, 29, told reporters on Tuesday.
"If we listen to his style, principles, if we keep the short-term targets of trying to be better and trying to implement the way he'll play, the long-term targets will be better in the long run," he said.
"We're still learning the way he plays. As a player he's a coach you want to play for because he loves everything with the ball. He's very attacking, and I'm really excited."
Maddison, whose last season was curtailed by an anterior cruciate knee ligament injury, said the focus was now on building towards Spurs' Premier League opener against Brentford on August 22.
Spurs began their pre-season tour with a 2-0 win over Auckland FC in New Zealand on Sunday and face Sydney FC on Wednesday before meeting Chelsea in Sydney three days later.
"First game of the season, Brentford — a big season for us under a new manager. We want to have a successful season," said Maddison.
"We need to be better than the last couple of seasons. So it's kind of all just preparation leading to that first game."
(Reporting by Suramya Kaushik in BengaluruEditing by Tomasz Janowski)
