AVB confident of keeping Bale

Harry Redknapp says Loic Remy could make his return from injury

when QPR visit Swansea this weekend.

There had been reports that the Frenchman faced up to two months

on the sidelines after hurting his groin last Friday.

However, Rs boss Redknapp has rubbished those claims and says

Remy will return at the Liberty Stadium providing he is satisfied

the injury will not be aggravated.

“He’s close to being fit for Saturday,” Redknapp said. “He

trained this morning, he’s very close.

“But I don’t want to rush him in case he breaks down.”

Remy joined Rangers from Marseille last month in an ?8million

deal and scored on his debut against West Ham.

Meanwhile, QPR chief executive Phil Beard admitted that

relegation from the Premier League could hinder the club’s hopes of

building a new stadium.

“Premier League stability is important,” said Beard. “We share a

training ground that isn’t right. We will build a new one.

“A new stadium is a long term goal. We have great fans but we

need to grow that fan base to fill it.

“It is going to be a minimum of four of five years before we

have a new stadium.”

Redknapp added: “You only fill stadiums if you are in the

Premier League.”

Rangers will “vigorously defend” any claim from finance firm

Orlit after confirming they have been in dispute with the

company.

The Glasgow club released a brief statement on Wednesday night

saying they had agreed a deal with Orlit over an “insignificant”

debt, after reports claimed the firm would seek a winding-up

petition over a ?400,000 bill.

Rangers repeated their claim that a deal had been agreed, but

not completed, although they added they were still being

“harassed”.

The club said: “Rangers have been disputing a payment to a

foreign company, Orlit, although it should be stressed we have

never said there is no bill to be met.

“What we have said and what we are telling our supporters is

that not all of the invoices submitted with regard to this bill are

legitimate.

“Clearly there has been a lack of understanding within the media

about this when all we have done is refuse to be forced into paying

sums we do not owe. It’s as simple as that.”

Rangers again insisted that there was no threat to the club and

added: “If Orlit wish to instruct their lawyers to go to court then

we will defend our position vigorously.

“We are absolutely convinced we’d win but we did think it would

be better to avoid giving our many detractors another bar with

which to beat us over the head.

“That’s why we made an offer to settle but we now find we are

still being harassed.”

Orlit have made no comment on the matter.

The statement was accompanied by a separate, near-1,200-word

article, written by recently-appointed director of communications

James Traynor, which hit out at media coverage of the club.

Ambrose and his Nigeria team-mates will face Burkina Faso on

Sunday evening in the African Nations Cup final, placing a question

mark over his availability for the first leg of the last-16 clash

at Parkhead.

Lennon concedes the versatile defender is a doubt but will give

him every opportunity ahead of Tuesday’s European outing.

He told CelticTV: “Nigeria did fantastically well and Efe has

played brilliantly in the game so I’m delighted for him in one way,

but obviously very frustrated in another.

“The final is on Sunday and he probably won’t get back until

Monday evening, so he would be a doubt.

“We will get him into the squad and see how he is feeling.”

Better news for Lennon is the likelihood that James Forrest and

Fraser Forster will both be available for the visit of the Italian

side.

Forrest has had a scan after returning to Celtic Park early from

Scotland duty, having made his return from a hamstring injury

against Raith Rovers last weekend.

Lennon said: “He’s just having a wee problem with his hamstrings

at the moment. He came off again on Sunday feeling a bit tight.

“He went away with Scotland and had a scan on Tuesday back in

Glasgow.

“There was nothing on the first reading so we are hopeful he

will be all right.

“He’s going for a second one today just to confirm it.

“If that’s the case, we’ll maybe not have him for this weekend

but he’ll be in the squad for Juventus.”

Forster should return against Inverness on Saturday after being

sidelined with a neck injury, while striker Georgios Samaras

(hamstring) and left-back Emilio Izaguirre (knee) are battling to

recover from injury ahead of the Juventus game.

Lennon said: “Fraser should be all right for the weekend and, if

he comes through that, then he’ll be starting against Juventus.

“With Sammy, we’re giving him every opportunity and we’ll see

how he is over the weekend. Emilio should be fit for the game.”

Mulumbu suffered a knee injury before taking part in the African

Nations Cup for DR Congo and on his return missed last Sunday’s 1-0

home setback against Tottenham.

But he was back training with his team-mates on Thursday and

optimistic he will be ready to face the Reds.

Mulumbu told Albion’s official website: “I missed the QPR FA Cup

game before the African Cup of Nations with what I thought was a

small injury.

“But the intensity of the games in the African Cup of Nations

meant I needed a rest when I came back.

“It was hard mentally and physically but I’ve had a good rest

over the last week and I feel refreshed.

“Mentally it was hard not to get through the group and it was

quite painful physically playing through the injury.

“But when you play for your country and fans you just get over

it – and I did it.

“I have been training this week but today was my first day back

training with all the team.

“I think I will be fit for Monday’s game, my knee is getting

better, and I felt really good today.”

On Thursday afternoon Portsmouth’s administrators, PKF, said

they had received a new offer to buy the troubled club from former

Football League chairman Keith Harris, which would rival the PST’s

bid.

Despite the football financier wanting the fans’ group to be

involved in the proposed takeover, the Football League has released

a statement stating it will not consider any new bids for the

struggling south coast outfit.

The statement read: “At its meeting in London earlier today, the

board of the Football League was appraised of the current situation

regarding the administration of Portsmouth Football Club in light

of media reports that the administrator, PKF, is considering a new

offer for the Club.

“The League had previously been informed by PKF that its

preferred bid for the club was from the Pompey Supporters Trust

(PST) and all parties have been focused on a successful transfer of

share to that consortium.

“Given that the Football League’s Insolvency Policy prohibits a

club from beginning two consecutive seasons in administration, the

board took the view that any change of preferred bidder at such a

late stage would only create further uncertainty and was not in the

wider interests of the League and its member clubs.

“Therefore, the League has informed the administrator that it

will not currently consider transferring the club’s share in The

Football League to a new bidder.

“This means that in the event that the PST bid does not succeed

and Portsmouth do not exit administration before the end of the

current playing season, the club will lose its membership of The

Football League.”

The PST are the preferred bidder of PKF but their proposal

hinges on buying the club’s Fratton Park ground, which is still

controlled by former Portsmouth owner Balram Chainrai.

PKF are seeking permission to sell the ground and are due in

court with Chainrai’s company Portpin next Thursday.

Pompey have been in administration since February last year and

will be deducted 10 points if and when they exit. They are

currently second from bottom in League One, two points above

Hartlepool, having lost their last eight matches.

The 41-year-old has been in charge of the Denmark Under-21 side,

but is to give up the role to move to the Liberty Stadium, and his

switch could be confirmed before the weekend.

Erik Larsen has been working as Laudrup’s right-hand man so far

this season, but it is believed he will be moved into a position

with more focus on scouting, while Alan Curtis will remain as a

first-team coach.

During his time in Glasgow Wieghorst helped Celtic end Rangers’

run of nine-straight SPL titles, before being diagnosed with

Guillain-Barre syndrome in 2000 and making a remarkable return to

resume his playing career.

Wieghorst, who played alongside Laudrup for Denmark, left the

Hoops in 2002 to become one of his former team-mate’s first

signings at Brondby.

The highlights of his managerial career to date have been the

consecutive Danish Cup triumphs he oversaw with Nordsjaelland,

before taking the reins of the national under-21 side.

He was also viewed as a potential successor to Morten Olsen,

with the boss of the senior Denmark side set to step down next

year, but the chance to return to club football has been too strong

a draw.

The move to bring in Wieghorst would suggest Laudrup has no

intention of leaving the Liberty Stadium, having been linked with

Real Madrid and Chelsea.

Despite the speculation, the Swans boss does not believe there

is any need to rush a decision over extending his contract, which

runs out at the end of next season.

Laudrup has taken the club to new heights after building on the

foundations laid by Brendan Rodgers.

The Swans sit in the top half of the Premier League table and

will play in their first major cup final when they face League Two

Bradford in the Capital One Cup final at Wembley later this

month.

Chairman Huw Jenkins is keen to tie his manager to a longer-term

deal and avoid a repeat of the departures of Rodgers and Roberto

Martinez before him.

But with that Wembley final, important Premier League games and

next week’s warm-weather training camp in Dubai on the horizon,

Laudrup does not believe his contract is a matter that needs to be

dealt with immediately.

He said: “I think for me the present is more important than the

future, we have so many things coming up now and I already have a

contract for next season so it is not urgent for me.

“We have some very important things to deal with right now. I am

talking to the chairman a lot of times every week and we talk about

a lot of things.”

But several of Laudrup’s players have recently committed their

futures to the club, and goalkeeper Gerhard Tremmel became the

third this week after agreeing a two-and-a-half-year deal through

to 2015.

He joins midfielder Leon Britton and defender Garry Monk in

putting pen to paper, and Laudrup said: “It’s good to get the

players signed up, they are important to us.

“We need to do it quick sometimes because it is difficult to

compare and compete with the salaries of other clubs.

“You never know their other possibilities, you have to ask them,

but we have to be realistic and know how it is here and the

structure is working well.

“We know other clubs pay more money but players sign because

they want to stay here which is good for us.”

Following Lampard’s decisive goal for England in Wednesday

night’s 2-1 win over Brazil, it was reported the 34-year-old had

been offered new contract to extend his 12-year stay at

Chelsea.

Such a move would suggest an about-turn by Chelsea owner Roman

Abramovich, who previously had been prepared to allow Lampard to

leave at the end of the season.

Chelsea declined to comment when asked about Lampard, but

Benitez was upbeat when asked about the midfielder’s performance

against Brazil.

“He’s scoring goals for us already and I think he’s doing well,”

Benitez told Chelsea TV.

“Ninety-four caps is a fantastic achievement. If he can get 100

it will be really positive and it will mean he will be fit, he will

be playing and he will be doing well.”

A 27th international goal on the occasion of his 94th cap showed

Lampard still has a future with England, who beat Brazil for the

first time in 23 years, and prompted England boss Roy Hodgson to

state his preference for the midfielder to stay in Europe ahead of

the 2014 World Cup. That could yet be at Stamford Bridge.

Despite the uncertainty over his future, Lampard has performed

well this term, scoring 12 times to move five behind the Blues’

goalscoring record of 202 held by Bobby Tambling.

Should Lampard stay on, it would come as a welcome boost

following the contract extension signed by Ashley Cole, who won his

100th England cap against Brazil.

Benitez added: “Ashley Cole – 100 caps is an amazing, a great

achievement for anyone, and for a player in the England squad,

which is very competitive, so even better.”

Lampard said of Cole on Chelsea’s website: “It’s a fantastic

achievement. He’s been an unbelievably consistent performer both

for club and country, and he started all of those games which makes

it all the more incredible.

“The consistency levels he’s shown, particularly when you

consider Leighton Baines has been around for a while now, have been

great.

“For me, he’s been one of the best in the world, and to be the

first full-back to reach 100 caps is brilliant.”

If Lampard does stay on, he could outstay Benitez, who is under

contract only until the end of the season.

Lampard, who joined in 2001 from West Ham, could even be

reunited with Jose Mourinho, who has been linked with a return to

west London from Real Madrid.

Overall Benitez was happy with the midweek international

fixtures, reporting no fresh injuries as players returned to

Chelsea’s Surrey training base.

“The international break normally is a problem, but this one we

can consider was positive,” Benitez said.

David Luiz, who has struggled with injury in recent weeks,

captained Brazil against England, and again Benitez praised the

achievement.

“To be the captain of Brazil is a great achievement for David,”

Benitez said.

“We were thinking maybe he could play less minutes, but he said

that he was fine.”

Cesar Azpilicueta made his debut for Spain against Uruguay in

Qatar, with Juan Mata also featuring, while John Obi Mikel and

Victor Moses were part of the Nigeria team which progressed to the

African Nations Cup final, meaning their returns to London will be

delayed.

The pair will miss Saturday’s Premier League clash with

Wigan.

Goalkeeper Petr Cech, another long-serving Blue, could be

doubtful after a finger injury saw him withdraw from international

duty with the Czech Republic.

Demba Ba’s fitness status is uncertain after the striker

suffered a broken nose against his former club Newcastle last

weekend. Ba may be able to feature with a protective face mask.

However, the Spaniard admits without youthful endeavour

surrounding those elder statesmen it is often difficult to

progress.

Lampard, who came off the bench to score England’s winner in the

friendly against Brazil, seems destined to leave Chelsea at the end

of the season.

The midfielder, who turns 35 in June, has not been offered a new

contract by the Londoners and with his current deal expiring at the

end of the campaign it seems likely he will leave Stamford Bridge –

much to the annoyance of many fans.

“Experience is a big word and it is very difficult, in football

terms, to describe it,” said Martinez, whose side face Chelsea on

Saturday.

“Experience in football is one of the most important ingredients

in a successful team.

“You need experience during a game so you know what to expect,

how to affect that game.

“Experience allows you to get positive results when you play

well.

“That is something that Frank Lampard brings – he knows when to

make forward runs, he knows when to score goals, when to stop games

and when to affect players around him.”

Lampard’s age appears to have counted against him and Martinez

can appreciate that there comes a time when a squad has to be

freshened up.

“Experience is very important to have in a squad but you need a

happy balance,” he added.

“You cannot have a too ageing squad and you cannot have too

young a squad but experience without legs doesn’t take you anywhere

and you need that bravery of youth surrounding experience.”

Some clubs, like Liverpool, are actively pursuing a policy of

signing only young players who are likely to have a good re-sale

value.

But Martinez does not believe there has been a significant shift

in the way sides are currently recruiting.

“I don’t think there has been a trend or change of way of

planning squads,” he added.

“I think all the squads need balance of youth and

experience.

“I think Frank Lampard’s situation is quite unique but I think

in general there is a real understanding of how important

experience is in the squad and how important it is to give our

youngsters an opportunity.

“All the changes with the development of a younger players shows

that but I wouldn’t say there has been a change in how to approach

the older generation.”

On the day managing director Derek Llambias revealed that he and

owner Mike Ashley would be thrilled if Pardew could extend his stay

on Tyneside into decades like Sir Alex Ferguson has done at

Manchester United, the manager was looking to the future.

The 51-year-old was handed an eight-year contract last September

– two days before the Magpies embarked on a run of just three wins

in 18 Premier League games.

Pardew revealed he was reassured his job was never under threat

despite their alarming slide, which saw the club drop to within two

points of the relegation zone before their recent recovery.

He said: “It’s rare in football to have the position that I have

had, and even with the results I had, the message from upstairs was

that I was going to be retained as manager, which was a good

feeling for me – perhaps not so much for our fans at times.

“I hope to repay that in the longer term because obviously I was

aware of the problems and I am aware of the problems we still

have.

“We need to strengthen the under-belly of this football club and

we need to do that this summer, probably.

“If we can do that, then we are going to be well-set for next

year because we have got some very good players on our books

now.”

Ashley funded the January spending spree which saw Pardew

recruit five senior players, one of whom – Moussa Sissoko – turned

in a match-winning display in Saturday’s 3-2 victory over European

champions Chelsea.

That was as much an illustration of his continuing faith in the

former West Ham boss as it was an admission that the club had got

it wrong during the summer with its frugal approach, and Llambias

today confirmed that.

He told the Evening Chronicle: “The club has never had

stability. It needs it. This is too big a club not to have

stability.

“Do we want to find ourselves in a situation when we have a

manager for 15 or 20 years? Absolutely. If the manager works, we

work. You cannot get any better than that.

“Eventually you will bring to the club what it has been crying

out for. Stability is a big thing for us.”

Llambias also indicated that Newcastle are likely to concentrate

on the European market once again when they look for further

reinforcements, with British talent too expensive for their

liking.

However, that was news to Pardew, who said: “That’s a view that

he has – it’s not something that I personally hold.

“All the markets are open to us and whatever becomes available,

we will take the best option we think is there.”

In the short term, the Magpies will concentrate on the task of

building upon successive wins over Aston Villa ad Chelsea to ease

themselves further clear of trouble, although that may prove easier

said than done this weekend as they travel to Tottenham, where they

lost 5-0 last season.

Events conspired against Pardew that day as the Spurs players

responded emphatically to speculation that then manager Harry

Redknapp would leave to become England boss.

Pardew said: “Spurs played very, very well that day. There was a

lot of business with Harry perhaps going to England and everything

else, and we caught them on that day when it was all coming

together for them.

“This will be a different scenario. We have got ourselves on the

up a little bit and hopefully we can turn the result around.

“But they have got some fantastic players – Gareth Bale is in

the top five or six players in the world right now, so we have got

some difficult players to contain.”

Lambert has shone on his first season as a Premier League

player, netting 11 goals in 25 matches.

The 30-year-old’s haul is the highest by an English player and

led one bookmaker to offers odds of 3/1 on him receiving a first

call-up for Wednesday night’s match against Brazil.

In the end, England boss Roy Hodgson overlooked the striker,

something Pochettino was relieved about after left-back Luke Shaw

picked up a knock on England Under-21 duty.

“For me, they are all worthy of playing for their national

teams,” Pochettino said of his new charges.

“[But] it would be better for Southampton that they are not with

their national teams after what happened to Luke Shaw.

“It’s natural they should have enthusiasm to play for national

team, but they have to be calm and everything comes bit by bit over

time.”

Shaw picked up a ligament issue ahead of his Young Lions debut

against Sweden and is a doubt for Saturday’s late kick-off against

Manchester City.

Fellow full-back Nathaniel Clyne, another that dropped out of

the Under-21 squad, may also be unavailable, with Gaston Ramirez

and Guly do Prado also possibly out.

“We have several players recovering from situations that have

happened to them over the last couple of games,” said Pochettino,

who will almost certainly be without centre-back Jose Fonte.

“I can’t confirm at the present time whether they will be ready

for Saturday or not.

“I hope they will be available for the game. Luke Shaw has come

back with a problem after his time with the England Under-21s

team.

“We don’t know if Adam Lallana will be ready right from the

start. He is recovering from injury so we don’t know yet.”

Should the winger make his first start since December 8, it

would be a huge big boost to Pochettino, who has yet to secure his

first win since replacing Nigel Adkins at the St Mary’s helm.

The Argentinian knows it will be tough to secure his first three

points against City, highlighting David Silva, Carlos Tevez and

Sergio Aguero as the key threats.

“It’s obvious that those two players plus Silva are great

players,” Pochettino said.

“We know that we have to stop the players getting balls to these

three players.

“We know any of these three can decide the match at any time so

we have to stop the ball getting to them.”

The pair were forced out of last week’s Scottish Cup defeat

against Kilmarnock.

Skipper Foran suffered a knee injury and Shinnie picked up a

hamstring problem but both could be available for the visit of

Celtic this weekend.

Butcher said: “They are fine and we’ll see how they are

tomorrow.

“Andy probably has more of a chance than Richie at the moment

but we’ll see. I’ve not ruled them out yet.

“I’ve had the specialist’s report and it’s pretty good news –

not the bad news we first feared.

“We’ll wait and see what they’re like. We’ve got another plan in

place if either one is out and we’ll move on from there.

“I’m still very pleased with what I’ve got and if both of them

do miss the match we’ve got good replacements.”

Butcher added: “We’ve got Kilmarnock as well on Wednesday at

home.

“If there is a slight doubt about playing on Saturday against

Celtic, then the Kilmarnock match very much comes to the fore and

maybe they could be available for that.

“It’s still relatively early but they both want to play and

they’re both desperate to get back out there.”

Wilson suffered a broken leg against Sunderland in October but

made his comeback with a 75-minute outing in Tuesday’s

behind-closed-doors friendly against Northampton.

The 25-year-old told Stoke’s official website after the game

that he could be back “within a few weeks” if all goes well.

Asked on Thursday when he thought he would have Wilson back in

the first team, Pulis said: “I’m not sure – as quick as we possibly

can.

“I rate him as one of the best players at this football club and

a very, very good Premier League player. We need him back.”

Pulis described his squad as “unbalanced” despite his best

efforts in the January transfer window, and admitted Wilson’s

contribution on the left side has been missed.

“The balance of the team and squad has not been right,” said

Pulis.

“We have tried ever so hard to correct that in the summer and in

the last window, but not been able to do it for all sorts of

reasons – there is no one to blame.

“It has left us a little bit unbalanced, so to get Mark back in

will be a real bonus for us.

“He has trained for the last month or so, but we have been

careful with him in lots of respects.

“He needs games and he needs a little bit more training.”

While missed targets made it a somewhat disappointing January

window for Stoke, one player Pulis did manage to recruit last month

was United States winger Brek Shea.

Shea signed a four-and-a-half-year deal with the Potters on

transfer deadline day last week and the formalities of his

?2.5million move from FC Dallas have now been completed, meaning he

is eligible to make his debut in Saturday’s league clash with

Reading at the Britannia Stadium.

Just as with Wilson, though, it remains to be seen exactly when

Shea will be thrown into action, with Pulis closely monitoring the

fitness of the 22-year-old, who has been recovering from a foot

operation.

“He should be in today (after returning to England from the US),

so that would make him available for Saturday, but then we don’t

know what his fitness levels are like,” Pulis said.

“We have to be a little bit careful with him and bring him on

steadily, although his fitness looks pretty good to be honest with

you – we have done a few fitness tests with him.

“So we hope he might be involved soon.”

Stoke also brought in England goalkeeper Jack Butland from

Birmingham on deadline day, with the 19-year-old subsequently

rejoining the Blues on loan for the rest of the season.

The acquisition of Butland has raised questions about the future

of the Potters’ first-choice stopper Asmir Begovic and Thomas

Sorensen, who has been deputising in goal for cup games.

And Sorensen, whose contract at the Britannia Stadium runs until

the summer of 2014, says he will hold talks with Pulis about

whether or not he will stay at Stoke.

“I will speak to the manager to see what his vision is for the

next few years,” said Sorensen, quoted by The Sentinel.

“The bottom line is that I am happy at Stoke, but what is

pushing things the other way is my ambition to play.

“It is definitely something I will need to figure out because I

obviously need to know where I fit in. If I don’t fit in, then I

will have to look after myself.”

The Ayrshire venue has not hosted a full international since the

visit of Wales in a friendly in May 1997.

Last night’s win over Estonia was held at Pittodrie, while

Easter Road was used earlier in the season for the visit of

Australia.

Shiels said: “I would like to see an international match at

Kilmarnock.

“My chairman has had the foresight to work on the pitch and

spend a lot of money on it.

“Outside of Glasgow, it’s probably one of the best facilities to

have an international match.

“We’ve got great facilities and we’ve a hotel on site, which is

fantastic.

“We would be more than willing for the SFA to avail of that

service.

“It’s a fantastic set-up and they have to realise that we are a

football club as well.

“I’m disappointed we have been overlooked yet again.”

Meanwhile, Cillian Sheridan could be out of action for up to six

weeks with a hamstring injury sustained during last week’s William

Hill Scottish Cup tie against Inverness.

Ross Barbour is also set to miss this weekend’s visit of

Motherwell with a flu bug.

Shiels said: “It’s a blow. We’ve potentially lost two more.

“It’s not an easy game. Motherwell are flying high so it’s going

to be tough for us.”

Bale has scored 13 times for Spurs this season and also found

the net on four occasions for Wales – the latest of which came

against Austria on Wednesday night.

While Villas-Boas is delighted to see Bale excelling for club

and country, he is also mindful that such exploits will attract the

attention of some of the biggest clubs in the world.

Real Madrid are thought to be keen on signing the 23-year-old

this summer, and Villas-Boas thinks Tottenham will boost their

chances of retaining the player if they can offer him the chance to

mix it with Europe’s best next season.

“I think (qualifying will secure his future at Spurs). This is

where most of the clubs want to be, and where most of the players

want to play,” said Villas-Boas, whose side currently sit fourth in

the table.

“Gareth’s future is intimately related to what the objectives

that we achieve for the season. “Hopefully qualifying for the

Champions League means we can attract better players and continue

to hold on to our best players.

“It is difficult for other teams with the economic situation as

it is to buy a player of this dimension.

“At the moment we are very, very fortunate to have him and I

think we can reach our objectives with him at this level. If we

reach our objectives we can hopefully continue to have Gareth in

our club.”

Bale grabbed the world’s attention in 2010 when he made a

mockery of Inter Milan right-back Maicon at White Hart Lane.

The Welshman has not rested on his laurels since that memorable

night in north London. He has bulked up, improved his pace and now

has the ability to play through the middle as a number 10 or a main

striker, leading to comparisons with Real Madrid star Cristiano

Ronaldo.

Because Jermain Defoe is out for up to three weeks due to ankle

ligament damage, and Emmanuel Adebayor will only return to training

on Friday, Bale may start up front in Saturday’s home game against

Newcastle.

“There is a possibility that we continue with the 4-4-2 with

Gareth as a striker,” said Villas-Boas, who started Bale just

behind Defoe at West Brom last weekend.

“He’s having a tremendous year. I think he’s such an outstanding

player all round. His performance yesterday was outstanding once

again. He’s certainly amongst the five best players (in the

league).”

Villas-Boas revealed that Adebayor is only likely to have one

training session before Saturday’s game against the Magpies.

Togo were knocked out of the African Nations Cup on Sunday

night, yet the 28-year-old is still out of the country and will not

return to London until Friday.

Given that Spurs are desperately short of strikers, many fans

have questioned why Adebayor did not return earlier, but

Villas-Boas insists it was always planned that the former Arsenal

man would not return until Friday.

The Spurs boss said: “No (he is not back), we’re trying to

establish the best flight connections for him,” the 35-year-old

said.

“He had issues to take care of as the tournament finished for

Togo, so at the moment we’re trying to see if we can have him back

either for today or tomorrow’s training session.

“I spoke to him Monday morning. I know where he is, I’m not sure

if I want to make it public.

“I don’t think it’s strange. We’ve allowed the players two days

off.

“The players come back today for 3pm training. A couple of them

come back for 3pm tomorrow. We’ve allowed Ade to come back for

Friday if he can’t make today’s.”

Villas-Boas revealed that defender Younes Kaboul, who has been

out all season with a knee injury, is set to return to training

next week.

“He’s going to rejoin training on Monday,” the Portuguese

said.

“Still, it’s going to be his first training session since

August, so we have to be very, very careful. Hopefully he will be

able to play in two to three weeks.”

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