Premier League
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| West Ham United 0 |
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Robbie Keane wants Tottenham Hotspur to push harder for European qualification. Photograph: Phil Cole/Getty Images
When Robbie Keane rejoined Tottenham Hotspur on the final day of the winter transfer window, he had one thing on his mind: the club had 24 Premier League points from as many matches and the prospect of relegation remained real, despite the strides made under the manager, Harry Redknapp.
Keane's ineligibility in the Uefa and Carling Cups further narrowed
his focus; the captain was consumed by the task of getting past 40
points, the accepted threshold for safety.
That it has taken
Keane and his team only eight games is a remarkable achievement,
although it could yet be topped by something for ironists. Tottenham
found the Uefa Cup an unwanted distraction this season, and it
appeared that they could not get knocked out quickly enough. Rather
abruptly, however, qualification to it as the rebranded Europa League
is within their grasp and Keane is determined to climb above injury-hit
West Ham in seventh place to seize it. Only in the unlikely event of
Everton winning the FA Cup and falling apart in the league to finish
eighth or lower would seventh not suffice.
"There's still a long
way to go but if we do get to [Europe] it would be a great achievement
for the club, probably one of the best for a long time because of the
position that we were in a couple of months ago," he said. "It's
important that clubs like Tottenham are in these big competitions
because it's a club that deserves that, and has the players to do that.
We've done the hard bit. In the eight [Premier League] games since I've
been here it's five wins, two draws and a loss. It's been incredible
for the lads. Now we can look forward and Europe has to be our aim."
guardian.co.uk