King confident Defoe will stay
Ledley King warned Tottenham to expect offers for Jermain Defoe in January - but remains confident his England colleague will stay at White Hart Lane.
Defoe scored another splendid goal – his 15th strike of the season at club level – in Spurs’ 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace yesterday to enhance his reputation as one of the top strikers in the Barclays Premiership.
And skipper King accepts the 22-year-old will be coveted by Spurs’ domestic rivals when the transfer window opens next month.
“Jermain is playing so well and scoring goals, so clubs are going to be interested,” said King.
“It is something that is going to happen, it is part of football. But we are confident that we can keep hold of him.
“Jermain is a great player who needs only a yard of space to cause teams problems. Apart from his goal, he had a few shots on target against Crystal Palace when there didn’t appear to be anything on.
“He is one of those players who can create something out of nothing.”
Although King was disappointed Spurs could only manage a draw with their struggling London rivals, recent results have earned 16 points from their last six matches.
Had Spurs prevailed yesterday, it would have been their sixth successive victory in the league – something the north Londoners have not achieved since the Premiership’s inception in 1992.
King revealed new head coach Martin Jol has instilled a winning mentality in his squad.
He continued: “We need to think like winners, maybe we got too used to losing in the past.
“The manager has given us plenty of confidence since he came in. He has told us that we are good players, and that we can do the job.
“We have known for years that we could do it and that we had good players at the club, but there was something missing.
“But he has given us an extra steel and determination, which will hopefully turn us into winners.”
Spurs first game of 2005 is against third-placed Everton, a team that has not won at White Hart Lane in the league since August 1985.
David Moyes’ men lost to Charlton yesterday, but King continues to rate them as one of the best teams in the Premiership.
And the 24-year-old believes that the New Year’s Day meeting with the Merseysiders at White Hart Lane will prove an important barometer of Spurs’ progress.
“Everton have had a great season so far, and it is never going to be easy against them,” added King.
“We have played them once already this year, and we won 1-0 at Goodison Park, so they will be looking to turn us over here.
“But we have done well recently, and now we want to play some of the sides at the top of the table, because that will show us how far come.
“We are looking forward to the test.”
