Coventry star Brandon Thomas-Asante out to spoil Ange Postecoglou vow in Spurs cup clash

Coventry City will be chomping at the bit to pile even more misery on Tottenham following their meek North London derby defeat at the weekend.

But you'd be hard pressed to find anybody in sky blue who will be hungrier to do so than lifelong Arsenal fan Brandon Thomas-Asante.

Ange Postecoglou bluntly told reporters that he "always" wins a trophy in his second season after the defeat. And if Spurs are to advance to the latter stages of the Carabao Cup and keep Postecoglou's promise then they will need to beat a Coventry side who are among the favourites to win promotion from the Championship this term.

That might be easier said than done - and Thomas-Asante, 25, is relishing the chance to make Postecoglou eat his words. He told Mirror Football ahead of the match: "They'll be up for it regardless [of their loss against Arsenal].

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"Everyone heard Postecoglou's comments about wanting to achieve big things this year, so I think they'll come strong. [His comments] are an extra incentive for us to do our best. We don't want to make their week any better, put it that way!"

As one of the standout fixtures of the third round, Spurs' trip to Coventry was a shoe-in for live broadcast and will be shown on Sky Sports. Thomas-Asante is no stranger to the cameras after signing for Salford City earlier in his career.

The League Two outfit, owned by 'The Class of 92', have their own Sky Sports documentary and Thomas-Asante's rise was charted over the years.

After making a name for himself at The Ammies, the Milton-Keynes-born frontman landed a dream move to the Championship with West Bromwich Albion.

He reveals still keeps in touch with the makers of the documentary from his time at Salford, where he quite literally grew up under the lens.

"That was the first time I was ever around a camera. They were there every day but it was an experience I really appreciated.

"It helped give you a sense of [your] journey. Being able to have that first professional season - my breakthrough if you like - documented was a real positive: it's definitely good that I can watch that back and see how far I've come."

Thomas-Asante joined the academy ranks at Milton Keynes Dons at the age of 12. He was, and still is, a livewire: a player who prides himself on making things happen and relishes the big occasion.

He remained on the books at Milton Keynes until his move to Salford, bar a brief stint at Ebbsfleet. The opportunity to move up north helped him grow up, he feels, away from the cameras and friends and family.

"All of a sudden you're paying your own bills and having to cook for yourself and whatnot. There's so many things that young players go through. And just, I don't know, there was a lot of growth around that time.

"It was a really valuable time [at Salford]."

After plundering 21 goals across two seasons for West Brom, Thomas-Asante was a man in demand in the summer when it became clear a move was possible. Coventry swooped to snatch him from the jaws of Championship rivals Hull City at the eleventh hour.

Given he only signed in August, Thomas-Asante wasn't part of the team that gave Manchester United an almighty scare in last year's FA Cup semi-final. But that's not to say the livewire forward isn't unaware of what a good cup run can do - even if Coventry will have to defy the odds if they are to have a chance of heading to Wembley again.

"It's never a bad thing for confidence," he explains. "It's an opportunity to play against the teams that are rated as the highest in the country and Spurs are definitely up there.

"I see it as a really good opportunity to show what we can do as a team and that we don't only back ourselves against the best teams in our own league, but the league we want to get to as well.

"These are the sorts of games you want to be playing week in, week out - you don't want it to be something that you're looking at at the end of your career as [cup games] being the only time."

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