LEDLEY KING has lit the blue touchpaper ahead of Saturday’s clash against Manchester United by saying: Who needs Berba?
The Spurs captain was stunned when Dimitar Berbatov left for United in a £30.75million deal.
But King — who scored his first goal for three years in Monday night’s2-0 win at West Ham — believes Tottenham are better off without thesulking Bulgarian striker.
King insists no one at White Hart Lane is bothered about Berbatovjoining United after he shamelessly chased a move two seasons aftersigning from Bayer Leverkusen.
He said: “Players come and go, we are professional about it. We are just interested in players who want to play for the club.
“We’ll say hello, shake his hand but once we go on the pitch we have a job to do in keeping him quiet.
“A lot of players have come and gone over the last few years. I’m used to playing them when they return.
“It’s not been an issue before and it won’t be at the weekend.”
Some Tottenham fans feel betrayed by Berbatov’s switch but King saysUnited’s newest star is due a rousing reception from the Lane faithfulon Saturday evening.
He added: “Dimitar was brilliant for us, I’m sure he will get a good reception from the fans.
“Dimitar was like Robbie Keane, the fans’ favourite while he was here.I’m sure they appreciate what he did for the club, hopefully we keephim quiet.”
Centre-back King, 28, faces his usual fitness battle ahead of his meeting with Berbatov (right).
The knee problem that has plagued King for the last three years meanshe is struggling to play more than once a week while any kind of hardtraining is a strict non-starter.
King admitted: “I probably won’t train between now and Saturday. Ialways miss a lot of training but when a match comes around I refuse tobe counted out.
“I’m desperate to play against United, I’m really up for that one. I want to be involved in all big games.”
Spurs hauled themselves into 15th place and above West Ham with the win on Monday night.
Jamie O’Hara sealed the win with a 20-yard drive after King’s towering header.
And King added: “Beating West Ham at Upton Park was one of our best performances of the season.
“They had kept three clean sheets before that and were confident.
“But we bossed it and once we took the lead, we went from strength to strength.
“It doesn’t seem three years since I scored my last goal.
“But the reality is we have players all over the pitch who can score.”
Hammers defender Matthew Upson says Gianfranco Zola’s side must get more points on the board during the busy Christmas period.
Following the defeat to Spurs, West Ham sit three points above the drop zone after one win in the last 10.
And Upson said: “In the second half against Spurs we ran out of steam a little bit.
“There are a lot of teams right in the thick of it.
“This period building up to Christmas will put a bit of distancebetween the teams who can move towards the higher reaches of the tableand those who will be struggling at the bottom.
“The next few games are all important for us.
“We have to make sure we get back to hard work, stick to what we believe in and grind some results.” |
發表於 2008-12-12 10:14 PM
| 