Tottenham manager Tim Sherwood says Vlad Chiriches must produce a performance against Manchester City strong enough to shrug off the gossip surrounding a video which apparently showed him drunk in Bucharest last weekend.
Admitting he had seen the video, posted on the internet on Monday, Sherwood confirmed Spurs will not fine the Romanian defender.
Chiriches is in line to face City in Spurs' White Hart Lane Barclays Premier League clash on Wednesday, with Sherwood challenging him to brush off his weekend antics.
"I did see that, yes," said a bemused but unfazed Sherwood. "I've fallen over in the snow before and all.
"He's had a weekend off and he's got to play well on Wednesday.
"No (he will not face a fine), he wasn't breaking any rules.
"For his own sake you wish he didn't (do it).
"He was unsteady on his legs by the looks of it; it must have been windy over there."
Manchester City ravaged Spurs 6-0 at the Etihad Stadium in November, a seismic result on the way to Andre Villas-Boas' exit.
Sherwood will still tell Spurs to forget that result and go on the attack against Manuel Pellegrini's free-scoring City outfit on Wednesday.
When Blackburn won the league with Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton up front, Sherwood anchored the midfield alongside David Batty.
The ex-Rovers captain said they almost knew they would win any time opponents parked 10 men behind the ball.
Exhorting his side into an attacking mindset, he said: "You've got to have your own threats, you've got to push them back.
"There are no more attacking full-backs in the league than the two in that Man City side.
"At Blackburn we could definitely sense fear, we could see teams coming when they put 10 behind the ball: they were just waiting to get beaten.
"I'm not a believer in that, you can have a lot of people behind the ball and still get hammered."
Sherwood hailed Pellegrini for debunking the current vogue myth that no side can win silverware without two holding midfielders.
While the Spurs head coach will shift his systems to best suit resources, he still considers 4-4-2 to be one of the most deadly formations out there.
"It's never out of fashion in my eyes: there are just times to play 4-4-2 and times not to," said Sherwood.
"I always maintain players win games not formations.
"I never used to play with a holding midfielder, just two who can do everything, adapt and be clever in how they play with each other.
"And that's what they've got with Fernandinho and Toure.
"Pellegrini's making a mockery of that boring, old English 4-4-2 isn't he?
"Everyone says it's old hat, well they are running away with the league playing 4-4-2 and Man United did for years."
Injuries and the fallout from Villas-Boas' departure have forced Sherwood into making a number of changes.
Striker Emmanuel Adebayor's form following his Villas-Boas inflicted exile might be the most striking, but Sherwood has laid credit for Spurs' resurgence at the feet of his players.
"The boys that are in the frame at the moment weren't even playing," he said.
"It has been a manic time, yeah, it's been needs-must for us a little bit, because a lot of the other boys have been injured.
"I've been dealt the cards and I'm pleased with the outcome.
"The team has improved itself, I think it's just given some belief and confidence into the players.
"It's not looking from where they were to where they are now; it's just putting my stamp on it.
"They are on board and results have been good."
Source: PA
