Tottenham vs Manchester City preview - Sherwood won't replay video nasty

Posted Wednesday, January 29, 2014 by PA

Tottenham manager Tim Sherwood believes his players would be scared if they watched the video nasty of their 6-0 November thrashing by Manchester City.

But Sherwood thinks beating Barclays Premier League title hopefuls City at White Hart Lane on Wednesday would galvanise Tottenham's charge towards a top-four finish.

The Spurs boss admitted he did not want to show his squad a rerun of their November hammering, a result that accelerated former manager Andre Villas-Boas' exit.

"You might scare them, when you want to motivate them," Sherwood on Tuesday. "I just think they need to use that for themselves.

"Games boil down to individual errors, decision making, and if we win enough of our personal battles out there tomorrow we'll make a good account of ourselves.

"Anyone who finishes above Man City will win the league.

"It would be huge, huge belief if we could come out of this with three points.

"The players would know we could compete.

"In their minds they think they can, but it's one thing thinking you can and another actually doing it.

"That's what we'll be telling them.

"I trust those boys to be able to give us a positive performance and result. So let's go and prove we can do that."

Sherwood feels striker Emmanuel Adebayor will be pivotal to Tottenham's chances of securing Champions League football for next season.

Out of favour under Villas-Boas, Adebayor has been a central figure for Sherwood.

And the former Blackburn midfielder does not expect that to change.

Backing Adebayor to shine against his former club, Sherwood said: "He's been great ever since I've come into this job.

"I've given him a platform to play and he's not let me down.

"It looks like he's enjoying his football and he surely will be up for this game on Wednesday.

"There's no small and big games for Ade at the moment, he seems like he's motivated just as much for every game he plays.

"He is one of the top strikers in the Premier League in my opinion, and it's important that we keep giving him the service.

"He relies on the other players as well, and we're relying on him.

"So he'll be crucial for us to get where we want to be.

"At times he can be unplayable, I think a lot of centre-backs who have marked him will tell you that on his day he can be formidable.

"And long may that continue because at the moment he's proving very, very hard to mark."

Andros Townsend and Erik Lamela will miss out against Manchester City, while Jan Vertonghen, Younes Kaboul and Sandro are back in training but remain doubts.

City top scorers Sergio Aguero and Alvaro Negredo could be back in tandem at White Hart Lane.

Negredo, scorer of 23 goals this season, missed Saturday's FA Cup fourth-round win over Watford after suffering a shoulder injury in the Capital One Cup semi-final second-leg at West Ham last week.

Aguero scored a hat-trick against the Hornets but needed to stay on for the full 90 minutes after City fell 2-0 behind, something manager Manuel Pellegrini had hoped to avoid.

The Argentinian - top scorer with 25 goals - is still building his way to full fitness after a recent calf injury.

Pellegrini said: "There are no problems, he played without problems in the 90 minutes. He is okay.

"He is in the squad list and doesn't have any problem to play.

"Negredo is okay, he is in the squad list, no problem."

Playmaker David Silva is also back in contention after being rested due to a hamstring issue.

Midfielders James Milner and Javi Garcia are ruled out due to knocks but neither should keep them out long. Samir Nasri (knee) remains a long-term casualty.

Pellegrini hopes Saturday's scare against Watford has shaken any complacency out of his side.

Pellegrini voiced his frustration with his players after they needed to recover from 2-0 down against the Championship side at the Etihad Stadium.

City eventually won comfortably 4-2, but Pellegrini said after the game their defending was a "disaster" and he would have liked to substitute all 11 players.

Speaking at a press conference to preview the trip to Tottenham, the Chilean said: "It was a good lesson - to pay attention in the right moments.

"In football the difference between winning and losing is very slight.

"I can't say what they saw of me, but I think we made the correct arrangements during half-time.

"I think the reaction was very important, as was the way we finished the game."