Tottenham striker Emmanuel Adebayor has hit out at former manager Andre Villas Boas, and current chairman Daniel Levy for treating him in a disrespectful manner during the Portuguese manager’s reign in charge.
Adebayor scored twice for Tottenham today, as the North London club came from behind to beat a resiliant Southampton side at St Marys.
But the lanky striker has recently hit out at Villas Boas, and Levy for freezing him out of the squad all together, and forcing him to train with the club’s Under 21’s and reserve teams respectively, as Adebayor was even left of the club’s official photograph.
Adebayor spent a season on loan at Tottenham from Manchester City in 2011-12 and scored 17 goals in 33 Premier League matches, before joining on a permenant deal in the summer of 2012, following a £5 million deal.
However, Adebayor was a bit part player for the Lilywhites last year, scoring just nine goals, as Villas Boas opted for other attacking options, as Spurs missed out on the Champions League qualification on the final day.
Adebayor had only featured for 45 minutes under Villas Boas in the Premier League this season, before the former Porto and Chelsea manager’s sacking.
I’m a professional footballer, I had to keep my head up and I did what they asked me to do,” said the Togo player.
“They asked me to train with the reserves, which I did with pleasure, and they asked me to train on my own, which I did with pleasure.
“So now everything is paying off. I kept doing my thing and this is my glory time. I’m very happy.”
In September, it was revealed that Adebayor could have left Tottenham during the summer, after talks with both Levy, and former manager Villas Boas.
“There were opportunities for him to leave, but he was not interested in them,” said Villas-Boas, who was sacked following Tottenham’s 5-0 defeat by Liverpool last weekend.
When Tim Sherwood took over as interim head coach, he instantly recalled Adebayor to the starting line-up.
He had previously found himself way down the pecking order at Spurs, after the summer capture of Roberto Soldado.
“I thank the players and the staff,” said the former Arsenal striker. “They have given me my confidence back and they said ‘we know how good you are’. I didn’t want to let them or the fans that believe in me down.
“It was a huge win for the team and for our confidence. The press wrote us off, but we showed character, personality and team spirit.”
Adebayor marked his return to competative football in midweek, after scoring a superb volley in Tottenham’s League Cup defeat to West Ham United.
By Ben Reardon
@BenReardon1
