‘THIS WILL BE A GOOD TEST OF HOW FAR WE’VE COME’

RYAN SESSEGNON knows that today’s battle against old pal Reece James and his Chelsea team-mates will provide a proper indication of where Tottenham are at.

Spurs burst out of the traps with a 4-1 win against Southampton last weekend.

And, what’s more, they did so without any of the summer signings, who had boosted confidence in the squad so greatly, starting the game.

It added to the belief permeating the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium that boss Antonio Conte is putting together a special team.

But, while Sessegnon (below, with local kids at the Summer of Spurs) buys into that, he is under no illusions that today’s trip to Stamford Bridge will be a marker of where they are even at this early stage of the campaign, given the Blues beat them three times in as many weeks in January.

The former Fulham star said: “It will be a good test for us to see how far we’ve come from last season.

“We were disappointed to lose the three games against them – and we’re going up against a good team.

“But we’re a good team as we’ll be going there to win the game and then we can see what the gap is between us. Coming through at Fulham, it’s embedded in your brain to dislike Chelsea, so this game is extra special for me.

“And, against Reece, it will be a good match-up – he’s a great player.

“We played together for England in the youth-age groups, we won the Under-19s European Championship and we’ve been playing against each other since I was nine, when Reece (right) was at Chelsea and I was at Fulham.

“We’re good mates. We probably won’t talk before, but maybe after. We’ve gone out before, we have close mutual friends, other players.

“I know some of the Chelsea players and we have friends who aren’t footballers. I think I know Reece’s weaknesses – but I won’t say too much now.

“He’s a great player, what he has done for Chelsea and England has been very good, so you can always look at that and it inspires you.”

Sessegnon, who scored his first

Premier League goal for Spurs last weekend, has always taken his inspiration from other players and he names Gareth Bale (above) as a childhood hero.

He added: “Gareth was just so energetic – powerful and pacy.

“I remember the Champions League game for Spurs against Inter Milan, that type of stuff, he scored two in that game.

“I always watched those video clips and tried to emulate him. If I add more goals and assists, it’s going to keep me in the team.”

Last weekend did just that, with the first against

Southampton. And afterwell, wards he joked that Conte, who won the title when he was Chelsea manager, would have killed him if he had missed the chance, given he fluffed a similar one just a few minutes earlier.

But he is loving working for the fiery Italian, who keeps his players on their toes – but, contrary to popular opinion, does also have a softer side.

Sessegnon said: “It gives us confidence because he has been there and done it, he’s a very intelligent coach, so we take everything he says on board.

“Tactically, he’s very good.

“For each team, he has a different plan and we have a good game plan for this game, so we feel like we’re ready for it.

“It’s not so much individual, it’s more collective, tactical situations.

“He’s not stupid, he knows they have quality players in every position, but it’s about nullifying their threat – and we know how to do that.

“He has a soft side, too, to be fair. “There’s a jokey side to him as well, which people don’t see.

“But, more often than not, it’s down-to-earth and serious.” ■■Ryan Sessegnon was speaking at the Summer of Spurs — a free activity programme being delivered by the club throughout August to keep local youngsters engaged during the school holidays, promoting health and wellbeing and reducing levels of crime and anti-social behaviour