Friday 23 January 2015 13:29, UK
Tottenham winger Andros Townsend has come to the defence of under-fire striker Emmanuel Adebayor.
The Togolese striker, captain for the night, was booed off the pitch after being replaced by Roberto Soldado in the 65th minute of their Capital One Cup semi-final, first leg against Sheffield United on Wednesday night.
England international Townsend scored the only goal of the game from the penalty spot to give Spurs a slender lead going into next week’s second leg at Bramall Lane.
He (Adebayor) scored loads of goals last season. He has had a few off-the-field problems this season, but he has got his head right and he has got himself fit.
Adebayor was also booed by some sections of the Tottenham support on his return to action when he came off the bench in Saturday’s win against Sunderland, having missed 10 weeks due to injury, illness and family issues.
Former Arsenal and Manchester City striker Adebayor has scored just twice in 14 appearances for Mauricio Pochetinno’s side this season but Townsend insists he will soon return to form for Tottenham.
"Everyone knows what Manny can offer," said Townsend.
"He scored loads of goals last season. He has had a few off-the-field problems this season, but he has got his head right and he has got himself fit.
"He has had a few niggles but he is now 100 per cent fit, so hopefully we will see the Emmanuel Adebayor of last season and he can start scoring goals for us.
"In his first game back on Saturday, he was fantastic and worked really hard for the cause. It was the same against Sheffield United.
"He worked hard, he had some nice touches and, even though there wasn't much space for the forwards, he did well.
"Hopefully he'll get another game on Saturday against Leicester in the FA Cup and he can get a goal. He is a fantastic player. He worked hard and hopefully the fans can see that."
Watch the second leg of Sheffield United's Capital One Cup semi-final with Tottenham. Coverage begins on Sky Sports 1 HD at 7:30pm on January 28.
