Source: Team_Talk
O'Hara has come of age at Pompey
Jamie O'Hara feels he has come of age at Portsmouth this season and he has no intentions of returning to Tottenham just to warm the bench.[LNB] The on-loan midfielder is hoping to play through the pain barrier with injections into a stress fracture in his back to be able to feature in the FA Cup final against Chelsea on Saturday.[LNB]O'Hara - who was ineligible for Pompey's shock semi-final victory over his parent club at Wembley - has proved a popular figure in what has been a turbulent campaign at Fratton Park, which ended in administration and relegation from the Premier League.[LNB]The 23-year-old collected a clean sweep of the club's player of the season awards, and admits the taste of regular first-team football has made him hungry for more.[LNB]"Once I go back to Spurs, I will be sitting down with the manager and seeing what he wants to do with me next year, whether he wants to offload me to somewhere else or if he wants to keep me," said O'Hara, who will need around two months rest to help heal his back injury before returning to action at the start of next season.[LNB]"I have tasted first team football now and have played a lot of games.[LNB]"I would not want to go back to sitting on the bench and playing one match in six.[LNB]"There are already five or six great central midfield players at Spurs, and the manager may bring some more in during the summer.[LNB]"Spurs have done fantastic this year, so it is going to be difficult for me to get in the team.[LNB]"I will just have to sit down with the manager and see what he wants to do."[LNB]O'Hara maintained: "Being at Portsmouth has matured me as a player, being consistent every game is something I have learned more this year.[LNB]"You can't just come in and have one game in six if you want to play in the Premier League week in and week out, you have to put in performances in every game if you want to play at the top level.[LNB]"I have come to Portsmouth and had a great season personally, so hopefully now this can be a stepping stone to go on to better things."[LNB]Under the terms of his loan deal from White Hart Lane, O'Hara was forced to sit out the semi-final.[LNB]Ahead of Spurs' quarter-final against Fulham, O'Hara admitted he was hoping the Cottagers progressed so he could play in the next round - a statement which did not sit too well with manager Harry Redknapp.[LNB]O'Hara, who had come up through Tottenham's youth ranks, maintains that is all very much in the past.[LNB]"I am not bothered about going back to Spurs. Any issues have been swept under the bridge now," the midfielder said.[LNB]"I have spoken to Harry and he is fine with it.[LNB]"It was made a big deal when the story came out, but when I listened back to the interview, he [Redknapp] was trying to stick up for me in a way.[LNB]"When I spoke to him he said: 'you are young and I know you want to play in a cup final, but you have to be careful'.[LNB]"Maybe that is something I have got to learn, but I see myself as an honest footballer and was speaking my mind at the time."[LNB]Given the way Chelsea swept to the title, few give Avram Grant's men much hope as the Israeli coach looks to produce arguably the biggest shock in FA Cup history with victory over his old club.[LNB]"Every player will have to be 100% against Chelsea, right on top of their game," O'Hara said.[LNB]"We are probably going to need Chelsea to have an off day, maybe they might have a hangover from winning the Premier League.[LNB]"We are just going to have to play out of our skins and ride our luck a bit.[LNB]"On our day we can beat anyone and have put in great performances this year."[LNB]O'Hara added: "The FA Cup has allowed us to get away from the Premier League and against Spurs in the semi-final, the lads done brilliantly. If we can do that again, we are going to be in with a chance.[LNB]"All we can do is concentrate on our own game and how we can stop them."
