Boateng starts over at Pompey

Midfielder reflects on difficult Spurs spell

Last updated: 22nd November 2009   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Boateng starts over at Pompey

Boateng: Difficult spell at Spurs

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Kevin-Prince Boateng is happy to have put a troubled spell with Tottenham behind him.

The German midfielder is playing regularly for Portsmouth after securing a summer move from White Hart Lane.

He was given very little chance to shine at Spurs and was dogged by questions about his attitude off the field as he struggled to get games under Martin Jol, Juande Ramos and Harry Redknapp.

"First of all when I came to Tottenham, Martin Jol didn't want to sign me. It was (director of football Damien) Comolli who signed me. I came to the club and the gaffer didn't even know me," Boateng reflected.

"Then he was sacked and Ramos came. I played a couple of games and then he said to me that I wasn't good enough.

"So he dropped me and then I wasn't in the squad for 18 weeks. After 12 weeks, I went and asked him why I wasn't playing. But he just said 'keep training, keep training'."

Crazy

Boateng admits he was never given an explanation for his constant omission from the Tottenham side.

He added: "I didn't know how to handle this, so I did stupid things like arguing with people and so on.

"The first time I argued, the second time I argued - then I was finished. I didn't play anymore.

"Then Harry came and people went to him and said 'Boateng is crazy, he is stupid. He's a good footballer, but he's stupid'."

Boateng was regarded as one of the most exciting prospects in German football when he came through the ranks at Hertha Berlin and he concedes that he paid too much attention to the hype.

"When I was in Germany, they said I was the biggest talent in Germany and I thought I was the best player in the world," he said.