Keane to fight for Spurs place

Keane spent four months on loan with the Scottish giants after falling out of favour at White Hart Lane, but the striker is defiant that he will stay at the club unless told otherwise.

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"I just think I was maybe in a little bit of a rut at Liverpool and going back to Tottenham. I did well when I went back first and then did well at the start of the season, and then I just didn't have that hunger that I had and I think I maybe needed to go away to get that back,” he said.

"I certainly got that back at Celtic. It certainly got me back on track and really enjoying my football again.

"For me, it is just about playing games. I have got that back now and it's up to me now to go back to Tottenham and get myself in that team and stay in that team if I get that opportunity.

Keane enjoyed a hugely successful time at Parkhead, despite Celtic finishing way behind winners Rangers in the Scottish Premier League.

In his 19 matches for the club he found the net an admirable 16 times, putting him right back into the frame for a Spurs return.

"As a player, you lose confidence sometimes and I lost confidence maybe a small bit. But it is important that you try to get that back as soon as possible, and maybe going to Celtic was the best thing that happened to me,” the striker said.

“I am going back to Tottenham to start pre-season and to be at Tottenham unless Harry pulls me in or the chairman pulls me in and says otherwise."

Spurs’ abundance of attacking options may incline Redknapp to sell the star however, with Aston Villa rumoured to have shown interest in the 29-year-old Republic of Ireland international. 

By Joe Brewin

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