Woody eyes final triumph repeat

Woody eyes final triumph repeat March 19 2008

Tottenham defender Jonathan Woodgate is wary of Chelsea seeking revenge on Wednesday night for losing the Carling Cup final.

Woodgate scored the winner at Wembley when Spurs ended their nine-year trophy drought at the expense of Avram Grant's men last month.

The Blues were then humbled by Barnsley in the FA Cup but remain in the Premier League title race and travel to White Hart Lane looking to keep the pressure on Arsenal and Manchester United.

Juande Ramos' side are determined to bounce back from defeat by Manchester City at the weekend and want to bridge the gap to 10th place and eventually get in the top half of the table.

Woodgate said: "It will be a harder game than the final, without a doubt and they will want to put that right.

"They are going for the league title, they've always been there or thereabouts and the race is still wide open. They've top players who are hitting form at the right time.

"But we always fancy ourselves to beat anyone, home or away, and this is no different. We also want to put matters right after losing at Manchester City.

"We don't want to be in the bottom half of the table. We've nine games left, 27 points to play for and we'll be looking to win every game."

Ramos is demanding professionalism from his troops as they look to avoid their lowest Premier League points haul.

Spurs' campaign has been defined by their Wembley triumph but they have suffered three defeats since, with Ramos assessing the response of his players for the rest of the season.

The Spaniard arrived at White Hart Lane in October and is beginning to shape his squad for his first full campaign, and he has warned no-one is guaranteed to play.

Even top scorer Robbie Keane has been on the bench or substituted in seven of his last eight games, although his tantrum after getting taken off against City at the weekend is not thought to have a bearing on Ramos' selection for their midweek London derby.

"We have got nine games left until the end of the season so it is a case of looking at those nine games and assessing the players in that period and starting to make decisions about squad changes or reinforcements in the summer," said Ramos.

"In spite of the fact that maybe points don't have the same meaning as they did earlier in the season, we are all professionals and we will be looking for any signs of people not trying."



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