Spurs head-coach Villas-Boas says striker has a role to play.
Andre Villas-Boas says striker Emmanuel Adebayor still has a future at Tottenham but has insisted the striker must wait for a chance to shine.
The Togo international has not featured for Spurs this season, with Villas-Boas alternating between £26m summer signing Roberto Soldado and Jermain Defoe as a lone striker.
After impressing in his first season at White Hart Lane whilst on loan from Manchester City, Adebayor managed just five league goals in 24 appearances last term and Villas-Boas has admitted he tried to offload the 29-year-old in the summer.
Adebayor, who missed a chunk of pre-season following the death of his brother, trained with the reserves on his return from compassionate leave but is now back with the first team squad.
Despite Soldado and Defoe’s struggles in front of goal, the former Arsenal man is yet to even make the bench in recent matches and he told The Sun: “I cannot get any lower than this. If I’m lower, it means I’m dead. It cannot be any worse than this for me.”
But Villas-Boas has urged the striker to be patient and says he still has a role to play at White Hart Lane.
“Obviously every player counts for us,” said Villas-Boas.
“We have Defoe on eight goals, Soldado on six. Sometimes we start with a 4-4-2, then that can change to a 4-2-3-1 with one striker up front, so there is competition for places and you have to try and break your way into the team.
“No matter how hard you try the others are trying just as hard as you. So you have to be patient and wait for your opportunity whenever it arises. I think that is the nature of any top club in the country.
“You look at [Manchester] City who have four strikers. Two of them play, two of them sit [on the bench]. It’s no different for us, you have to wait for the opportunity.”
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