Maddison has bounced back impressively after missing England selection for the Euros.
He said ahead of tonight's Europa League clash at Ferencvaros: "A lot of people make quite a lot of talking about the James Maddison of the start of last year. In my own head, the James Maddison that started last year has been there for four or five years in the Premier League, at that level.
"I think the exposure you get of being at a bigger club and winning games made everyone think ‘wow, James Maddison is at a really high level’ when really I felt like I had been at that level quite consistently for a few years.
"Whenever in life you have setbacks, it can go one of two ways. And the gaffer has said that before. It is how you deal with that. You can either let it swallow you up a little bit and feel sorry for yourself and go down that route, or you can respond in the right way or the only way to get back to being successful and getting back in the England squad and playing at the top level for Spurs again.
"It wasn’t a massive thing. I feel like I actually finished the back end of last season quite well. I always want to prove people wrong. Any sort of doubters, people who question, I always want to prove them wrong. That is where I get some of my hunger from, wanting to be the best version of myself for Tottenham, my team-mates and people close to me — but also to prove people wrong who doubt me. I get satisfaction from that. I feel really good at the minute and I feel sharp. Hopefully that can continue."