mawspurs
18-10-2008, 06:52 PM
Source: Sky
Darren Bent admits Tottenham are in a relegation dogfight and must be prepared to battle for survival.
A miserly two-point haul from their opening seven Premier League fixtures currently sees Spurs slumped at the foot of the table.
Their form thus far has made a mockery of those who backed Juande Ramos to lead a top-four assault this season.
Big-money signings have failed to produce the goods, while a settled starting XI has not materialised.
With a basement battle against fellow strugglers Stoke to come on Sunday, Bent accepts that the players must take responsibility for the club's current plight.
"We're under no illusions we're in a dogfight here. But we're all prepared," the England international told The Sun.
"We're down there. Everyone picks up the paper or watches TV and looks at the table. Spurs are bottom of the league.
"The perfect way to kick-start our season would be to get something at Stoke before we start thinking about Arsenal (clash at Emirates Stadium on 29th October).
"We don't want to be thinking too far ahead and then forget about Stoke.
"People say we need to be out of the relegation zone before we face Arsenal.
"But if it doesn't happen then we'll have to go to Arsenal and get something. No-one gave us a chance of getting anything at Chelsea and we did. We know we need to win a couple of games to get out of there and we're all ready to do that."
Meanwhile, Bent has called for Ramos to be given time to get things right at White Hart Lane, with the Spaniard coming under mounting pressure of late.
"It's important that Ramos stays and sees the job through," he added.
"He's a fantastic manager and won us the Carling Cup in his first season.
"You have to give a man like that time. You can't just act hastily on it and we know it's not his fault. It's our fault we haven't performed on the pitch so we need to pull it around."
Darren Bent admits Tottenham are in a relegation dogfight and must be prepared to battle for survival.
A miserly two-point haul from their opening seven Premier League fixtures currently sees Spurs slumped at the foot of the table.
Their form thus far has made a mockery of those who backed Juande Ramos to lead a top-four assault this season.
Big-money signings have failed to produce the goods, while a settled starting XI has not materialised.
With a basement battle against fellow strugglers Stoke to come on Sunday, Bent accepts that the players must take responsibility for the club's current plight.
"We're under no illusions we're in a dogfight here. But we're all prepared," the England international told The Sun.
"We're down there. Everyone picks up the paper or watches TV and looks at the table. Spurs are bottom of the league.
"The perfect way to kick-start our season would be to get something at Stoke before we start thinking about Arsenal (clash at Emirates Stadium on 29th October).
"We don't want to be thinking too far ahead and then forget about Stoke.
"People say we need to be out of the relegation zone before we face Arsenal.
"But if it doesn't happen then we'll have to go to Arsenal and get something. No-one gave us a chance of getting anything at Chelsea and we did. We know we need to win a couple of games to get out of there and we're all ready to do that."
Meanwhile, Bent has called for Ramos to be given time to get things right at White Hart Lane, with the Spaniard coming under mounting pressure of late.
"It's important that Ramos stays and sees the job through," he added.
"He's a fantastic manager and won us the Carling Cup in his first season.
"You have to give a man like that time. You can't just act hastily on it and we know it's not his fault. It's our fault we haven't performed on the pitch so we need to pull it around."