Ledley King has revealed that his knee problems gave manager Juande Ramos a bad first impression of the centre-half.

King said: “It was difficult as he was a new manager coming in and didn’t know me.

“I was injured when he arrived and the first impressions were probably not good as managers like fit players.

“It took a while for him to understand the problems I had and how we had to deal with the situation.

“He probably never had a player the way I played last season, playing a game then missing one as the knee wasn’t right.

“I worked hard when I wasn’t playing. I had to do that as I had a month without playing. Juande’s help was great and we worked together.”

On the club’s hopes of breaking into the top four, he said: “Within the group we believe we’re capable of finishing in the top four. We’ll be disappointed if we don’t.

“We’ve got the talent to do it but it’s a lot more difficult than just talking about it.

“You have to be willing to grind results when you’re not playing so well and get results away from home.

“We’ll have to do that if we want to break in the top four.”

Tags: Ledley King

• Middlesbrough 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur

According to The Sun newspaper, Dimitar Berbatov has asked for a transfer.

A reported close friend of the striker’s told the newspaper: “Dimi’s decided to put in a transfer request.

“He can’t wait to go to Old Trafford and play for United.

“He feels he behaved professionally throughout this period.

“He has never spoken publicly on the situation out of respect for Tottenham.

“But he does not want to miss out on the start of United’s season and he feels that was his only option left.”

The Sun also report that Berbatov will be a substitute for the match at Middlesbrough.

Tags: Dimitar Berbatov

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Former Spurs and England manager Terry Venables is backing Spurs as a candidate to break into the top four of the Premiership this season.

Venables told The Sun: “It would be great for football if someone could gatecrash the big four this season. And if anyone is going to do that, it has to be Spurs.

“Manager Ramos has made some brilliant signings and shown real imagination and forward thinking.

“He has brought in flair players like Luka Modric and Giovani Dos Santos, who will perform in the Tottenham tradition and will also really capture the imagination of the White Hart Lane supporters.”

Tags: Terry Venables

• El Tel tipping Spurs to finish 5th