Ferdinand doubts role under Glenn

Adrian Curtis13 April 2012

Les Ferdinand is to seek assurances from new manager Glenn Hoddle over his playing future before committing himself to a two-year Tottenham deal.

Ferdinand welcomed the appointment of the former Spurs star, who is expected to be officially unveiled as George Graham's successor shortly, but voiced concern over his own future.

The 34-year-old striker is determined to see out his playing career at White Hart Lane but does not want to sign a lucrative new contract and then find himself out of the first-team picture.

Ferdinand was in Hoddle's 1998 World Cup squad but did not play once during the finals in France.

He can leave Spurs on a free transfer at the end of the season but talks about a new deal have been on-going since ENIC took control last month.

Spurs originally wanted to hand Ferdinand a one-year extension to his contract but ENIC have increased the offer to match the player's demands for a longer stay.

While Sol Campbell and Darren Anderton would be assured of first-team football under Hoddle, veteran Ferdinand told Standard Sport that he would like to sit down with the new manager and discuss his situation as soon as possible.

Ferdinand said today: "It will be worth me talking to him because a lot depends on what his ideas are and how he sees me in the side.

"I have always said I would like to stay at the club and the contract talks are progressing nicely. The club have offered me a two-year deal but I want to play football. I don't want to sign a new contract and then sit on the bench or not be playing for two years.

"There is still some talking to do before it gets finalised. The club probably see Glenn as the man to bring back the kind of football the fans want to watch and he is the only one they would have accepted to take over after George Graham. You only have to look at his record and how he has transformed Southampton to see how well he has done.

"He is definitely the right man for the job and the fans will be more than happy about it."

Meanwhile, Hoddle has completed another 24 hours of discussions concerning an £800,000 compensation payment to Southampton.

However, Hoddle's agent Dennis Roach declared the matter had been cleared up to pave the way for Hoddle's White Hart Lane return on a five-year deal worth around £7 million.

Tottenham's injured fullback Steve Carr today claimed that the arrival of Hoddle was a victory for fan power.

Carr, aiming to return from his groin problem to play against Arsenal in the FA Cup semi-final on Sunday week, Hoddle's first game in charge, said: "One thing that comes out of this for me is how powerful a set of fans can be. They wanted the chairman out and they wanted George out and now they've achieved both aims. People talk about player power but I think that this was a strong example of fan power."

Tottenham target Hassan Kachloul has left the door open for a quick reunion with Hoddle. He said: "As far as my future at Southampton is concerned, I won't be able to leave the club until the end of the season, when I can do so on a free transfer.

"Of course, Tottenham made an offer for me last week and I was flattered when I found out our club chairman didn't want me to go, even though the club will end up out of pocket as a result."

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