All rosy between Robbo and Ramos

The 28-year-old goalkeeper has previously admitted he was upset at being told so soon to kick-off against Arsenal last month that he had been dropped - and Ramos left it late to tell him he was back in for the UEFA Cup clash against Slavia Prague and also skipper.

"There is nobody that has been more hurt at being left out of the team than me," he said. "There has been a lot of rubbish written about me wanting to leave and handing in transfer requests. But it was nice to show that I haven't had an argument with the manager."

He added: "If I had an argument with the manager, he wouldn't have played me, let alone sent me out there as skipper. So I was delighted.

"I've got my head down and worked hard and I've worked hard for a long time over the last few weeks. Now I've got my reward.

"Ledley King is captain, then there is Robbie Keane, then there is me. Being left out of the side, I didn't know where I stood in that situation and it was a big vote of confidence in me from the manager."

King looks increasingly likely to feature in Sunday's Carling Cup Wembley showdown with Chelsea - and he will lift the trophy if Spurs win regardless of whether he plays.

The 27-year-old has not been involved since the semi-final last month as he is brought back gradually from knee surgery, but he has been training with the rest of the squad in the build-up to the final.

Spurs are hopeful he will be available as they look to end their nine-year trophy drought. If they do it without King, stand-in skipper Keane will step aside after the final whistle.

"He's the captain, so Ledley will (lift the trophy)," said Keane. "It's as simple as that - 100%. Of course we'd like him to be playing in the game as well. A team with Ledley King is a better team because he's a tremendous player. He leads by example when he plays. He's trained, so he's fit. Hopefully he'll be okay and he's the captain."