Robinson in line for UEFA cup comeback - News - Evening Standard
       

Robinson in line for UEFA cup comeback

Paul Robinson is set for a shock return against Slavia Prague tomorrow night and has the chance to stake his place in the team for the Carling Cup Final on Sunday.

Tottenham manager Juande Ramos has not picked the keeper since the game against Reading seven weeks ago, having lost patience over a series of costly errors. He is considering giving him another chance after Radek Cerny's blunder in Prague last week.

The England star's reprieve will be all the more remarkable because he fell out with Ramos when he was dropped against Arsenal and refused to warm up before the match.

Robinson handed in a transfer request, which he has since denied, but he privately accepts that he will leave the club in the summer.

Cerny will be disappointed, but he is set to pay the price for dropping a simple cross in Prague last week to allow David Strihavka to score and give Spurs only a 2-1 advantage going into the second leg.

Meanwhile, Ramos will not risk fit-again captain Ledley King to ensure he can play on Sunday.

King hasn't featured played since the club's 5-1 win over Arsenal in the Carling Cup semi-final second leg four weeks ago.

But even though he is now fit enough to play, the Spaniard is prepared to gamble and bring him straight into the first team at Wembley on Sunday.

Ramos is also considering resting Dimitar Berbatov and handing a rare start to Darren Bent instead.

Michael Dawson has not given up hope of recovering from a hamstring injury in time to play against Chelsea, having been initially told he would miss the game after sustaining the problem at Derby.

Assistant manager Gus Poyet is adamant the team's chances of beating their London rivals will not be ruined by playing just three days before the final.

He said: "It can be difficult to recover in three days sometimes, but we have a young team and it won't be a problem.

"We will play our best team on Thursday and our best team on Sunday. We don't have two sides to choose from, like Chelsea.

"It's good that they have all their players available."

"In the final you want to see the best."

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