Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount concedes England’s Euro 2020 defeat to Italy took ‘a little while’ to get over ‘physically and mentally’.
Mount has established himself as a prominent figure at both club and international level over the last two years and played five games as Gareth Southgate’s side made it all the way to the final.
The Chelsea star missed England’s earlier wins over the Czech Republic and Germany after coming into contact with Scotland’s Billy Gilmour – who tested positive for Covid-19 – but started at Wembley.
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But, Mount’s tournament ended in disappointment as England were beaten by Italy via a nail-biting penalty shootout and the campaign clearly took it’s toll on the player.
Speaking to French publication L’Equipe, the 22-year-old explained how he had to put the defeat to the ‘back of his mind’ while stepping up preparations for the 2021/22 back at Chelsea.
‘After the Champions League victory I quickly switched to Euro 2020 which did not end as we had hoped,’ he said.
‘This is football: sometimes you get very high, but suddenly you can go very low.
‘After the Euros I thought about it [defeat in the final] for several days, it took me a little while to get over it physically and mentally.
‘We had a short vacation and then we had to follow up with Chelsea’s pre-season, putting all that in the back of my mind to get off to a better start.’
Mount ‘studies’ his game on a regular basis to look for possible improvements and hopes to better his tally when it comes to goal contributions.
‘In one year, I have improved a lot and gained confidence in myself,’ he added.
‘As I have gained more experience in the Premier League I have realised that I could do great things. Also, I often take time to study my game and think about how I could improve.
‘I must not let three or four games go by without being involved in a goal… in the Premier League you often only have a chance or two to score per game and I must miss as little as possible.
‘I have to better analyse the matches to put my team-mates in the best possible condition, in order to help them score.
‘If you end a season with more than ten goals and more than ten assists it means that you have had a huge influence.
‘Afterwards, as my father always told me, a good offensive player also has to do the dirty work which is to contribute from a defensive perspective.’
