Agent reveals Pavlyuchenko problem

Tottenham striker Roman Pavlyuchenko's performances on the pitch are being affected by "psychological problems", his agent has claimed.

The Russia forward failed to impress in the 2-0 Carling Cup win over Everton on Tuesday having been handed a rare start.

Agent Oleg Artemov said in the Sun: "His poor performance recently is not due to a lack of match practice but psychological problems. Of course, not getting into the starting line-up, sitting on the bench is not good for any player."

He added: "But Roman is much more affected by the feeling that the manager doesn't trust him and prefers to use other forwards."

Pavlyuchenko, who was brought to White Hart Lane by former manager Juande Ramos, is competing with Jermain Defoe, Robbie Keane and Peter Crouch for a place in the Spurs attack.

And Artemov hinted he may have to leave the club in search of more regular first-team football to avoid harming his international chances ahead of next summer's World Cup in South Africa.

He added: "The World Cup is next summer, to waste another half a year on the bench may be very bad for his international career."