Frustrated Defoe not seeking a move

Jermain Defoe admits he is frustrated by a lack of first-team football at Tottenham but that he is not looking to leave White Hart Lane.

The England striker became Tottenham’s leading European scorer of all time when he netted a penalty against Sheriff in the UEFA Europa League last week.

Defoe has started only one Premier League game for Andre-Villa Boas’ side this season though, and he has been linked with a January move away from the London club.

However, the 31-year-old will not actively seek pastures new when the transfer window opens in the New Year.

Defoe told the Daily Express: “Of course it is frustrating that for all the goals, I have not had much of a chance in the Premier League,

“Fans ask me all the time, but I don’t need to tell anybody I am frustrated. That is just normal. People know I love my football, and I love scoring goals. When I am not getting the opportunity to do that, it is frustrating.

“But I have never once said I wanted to leave this football club. Even when I left the first time, I didn’t say I wanted to leave the club. All I will say is that I want to play.

“I would rather say to the gaffer, ‘Give me a chance’. I don’t want to go to him and say, ‘I am leaving the club’.

“I love the club and everybody knows that. I have got a special relationship with the fans and even when I left before, the club dentist called me during a Spurs game so I could hear the fans were still singing my name even when I was a Portsmouth player. I will never forget that.

“I came back and it has been great. If the day came when I have to go, it would be hard. All my friends are here and every game I play, when I put that shirt on, it feels like the first game.”