Ryan Nelsen has often excelled wearing a white shirt and he
hopes it will be the same as he eyes a possible Spurs debut
against Liverpool at Anfield on Tuesday morning.
Nelsen's free transfer from Blackburn Rovers to Tottenham was
confirmed overnight and Spurs assistant manager Kevin Bond
revealed the All Whites skipper would be in the squad for the
crucial Premier League match against Liverpool.
"He is fit and eligible to play on Monday,' Bond told
reporters. "I've just had a cup of tea with him in the
canteen. He is looking forward to the challenge.''
Nelsen hasn't played a Premier League game since Blackburn's
3-1 defeat to Aston Villa on August 20 as he battled to
overcome a troublesome knee injury. He even sought the advice
of All Blacks medical staff to gain another opinion.
But he played in a reserve game against Huddersfield on
Tuesday, under the watchful gaze of Spurs staff, prior to
Blackburn cancelling his contract. Nelsen had been lining up
a return to become a player-coach at DC United, the club he
played for in the MLS, before Spurs made their late bid.
"He was going to go back to America,'' Blackburn manager
Steve Kean said. "He had an offer to go back there and be a
player-coach.
"He was very excited about it and then, at the last minute,
Tottenham came in and offered him a short-term until the end
of the season. He was a fabulous servant to the club.''
Nelsen has signed a six-month deal with Spurs with an option
for another year. It was the prospect of playing for a
top-four side that attracted him the most.
"Medals, trophies are things you strive for,'' he told TV3.
"Blackburn got to five semis in my time and never made a
final, so it's very exciting.''
He's bound to get game time as Spurs, currently third on the
Premier League table, attempt to keep pace with the two
Manchesters (City and United) and they also have a great
chance to progress further in the FA Cup after being drawn
against League One outfit Stevenage in the fifth round.
But he wants to force his way into the starting side and
knows he has a challenge on his hands with Michael Dawson,
Ledley King and Younes Kaboul, as well as the injured William
Gallas, on Spurs' books.
"I kind of like when the odds are stacked against you, so
we'll see,'' he said. "We'll get out there and give it
everything.
"It feels like you're going back to the first day of school,
so yeah, everyone will be looking at you and judging you so I
better clean my boots and comb my hair... it'll be fun.''
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