Tottenham Hotspur FC

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• Manager:Harry Redknapp

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Harry to give Pav every chance

19 Feb 2010 - 13:10:18

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Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp has denied that he is deliberately freezing Roman Pavlyuchenko out of his starting line-up.

The Russia international has spoken regularly this season of his unhappiness with his lack of first-team opportunities, saying earlier this week that he thought the Spurs boss was "making fun" of him.

Pavlyuchenko has been linked with a host of Russian clubs since last summer, with Lokomotiv Moscow the latest to show an interest in securing his services.

However, Redknapp has said he retains a great faith in the forward, saying: "If Pavlyuchenko scored eight or ten goals between now and the end of the season, no one would be more pleased than me.

"If players leave a club, they often blame the manager. Have I spoken to Pavlyuchenko about his comments? It's difficult, because he doesn't speak much English.

"If he wants to say things, that's up to him. His job is to come in, work hard and show that he wants to play for the club. How can I refuse to sell him?

"The chairman (Daniel Levy) would ask my opinion but we're not in a situation where we want to sell him.

"He scored a terrific goal in the FA Cup against Leeds and he'd have started the next game, but he picked up an injury. He's fit again. We have three games this week and there's every chance that he'll start at least one of them."