Ferdinand: We have let fans down

Adrian Curtis13 April 2012

Les Ferdinand today admitted that Tottenham have failed to live up to the expectations of fans buoyed by their early-season form and prolonged runs in the Worthington and FA Cups.

The former England striker knows that failure to beat Charlton at White Hart Lane tonight would put an end to their already faint hopes of qualifying for Europe.

Ferdinand, hoping to recover from a groin strain in time for the game, said: "To be honest, I think we're suffering from the way we raised expectation levels early on in the season when we were really flying. It was great to see the fans getting genuinely excited about the team again and we played some really nice stuff.

"But I think people got a little carried away. We have made progress this year but not as much as our early form suggested we would and we have to face the reality that we're on a long-term learning curve. I wish more than anyone that we could have maintained our form and results since December but it hasn't happened."

The two 4-0 defeats to Chelsea last week, on the back of a beating by the same margin at Old Trafford, were particularly painful. Ferdinand added: "To say it hurt to lose a second successive game 4-0 to Chelsea would have to be the understatement of the year. We know how much it meant to the fans to repair some of the damage from the FA Cup defeat and we are sorry we let them down, not least because we've left ourselves a mountain to climb in terms of pushing for a top six finish.

"We came up short against Chelsea. It's been a long, long season and I've got to say, it has caught up with us in the past few weeks. Our squad still doesn't have the necessary depth."

Darren Anderton also insisted there was no crisis at White Hart Lane.

He said: "You have to respect Charlton as you do every Premiership team but we've had to suffer a couple of defeats and we need to get back to winning ways. We are all determined to turn things around and restore a bit of pride."

Former Spurs defender Luke Young says his return trip could not have come at a worse time.

Young, a lifelong Spurs fan, was forced to quit the club in search of regular first-team football in a £4 million deal to the Valley last summer.

He said: "There will be mixed emotions for me. This is the fixture I've been looking forward to all season. But it's a bad time to be playing them, after three 4-0 defeats. They'll be massively up for the game."

Spurs will give late fitness tests to Ferdinand, Dean Richards and Ben Thatcher.

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