Ramos: I'll leave it late to decide on whether to start Berbatov for Spurs
Tottenham head coach Juande Ramos says he will make a late decision on whether Dimitar Berbatov will play in Tottenham's Premier League opener - if the striker is still at the club.
Manchester United and Barcelona are reported to be monitoring the 27-year-old on the eve of the Premier League season.
Should the drama drag on, Ramos says he will make a late decision on whether Berbatov should feature against Middlesbrough at the Riverside.
"I will wait until the final training session and see how he is in training, that's when I will make a decision on that," he said.
"He's an excellent pro, he's been working totally independently to anything that might be happening outside the football and any speculation has been dealt by his agent. He's just been getting on with things professionally in training."
Berbatov has been expected to leave since Spurs chairman Daniel Levy released a statement suggesting the 10.9m signing from Bayer Leverkusen could have a negative effect on the dressing room as he wanted to leave.
He also lodged a complaint with the Premier League about United's conduct in the last 12 month in their pursuit of Berbatov.
With Robbie Keane leaving for Liverpool, Ramos would be left with just Darren Bent as an out-and-out striker if Berbatov moves.
Ramos said: "If you ask any manager, they always want their best players available - Dimitar is no different.
"He is a great player and is carrying himself superbly well through this and we want him to stay but if it is my personal opinion, I have no preference one way or another - you have to go with what is happening.
"He's our player, he is at our club and he is a fantastic player - it would be great for him to stay."
Ramos, however, has been pleased with the prolific form of Bent in pre-season, and he also has Giovani dos Santos as a support striker, while Luka Modric and David Bentley are expected to provide firepower from midfield.
Ramos added: "It is nothing to panic about. We have performed very well in recent friendlies, they have been great attacking performances so it is not something that concerns me.
"We are aware there are only two weeks to go before the end of the window, that is something we are working on constantly anyway.
"We work without rest to look for players and we've always known the deadline day is the August 31.
"We are working calming, in the background, on one or two things. We prefer to work with as much discretion as we can."
Email to a friend
Print this page- Breaking News: Teen arrested after five injured in crash on Northamptonshire road
- Major change planned for Northampton’s town centre roads
- BREAKING NEWS: Man who died following crash on Northamptonshire road named by police
- Police swoop at Northamptonshire ‘sex lay-by’ after lewd conduct revelations
- Bully trusted to look after baby jailed for breaking its leg and fracturing its rib
- Waste recycling bins begin arriving at homes across Northamptonshire
- Major change planned for Northampton’s town centre roads
- Torquay 1 - 0 Northampton: Cobblers stay bottom after third defeat in a row at Torquay United
- Police swoop at Northamptonshire ‘sex lay-by’ after lewd conduct revelations
- Cobblers fan charged with racially abusing a black player at Shrewsbury game
- Top Northampton choreographer names Olympic ceremony performance after Chron
- Anger at plans for Northampton pharmacy which wants to open 100 hours a week
- Althorp reveals Earl Spencer’s wife is expecting new baby
- Northampton Saints: Mallinder keen to keep homegrown star Diggin at Gardens
- Manchester United heroes to take on Daventry Town in game refereed by Northamptonshire MP
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Northampton
Saturday 04 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -1 C to 1 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: -1 C to 3 C
Wind Speed: 7 mph
Wind direction: West
