Andre Villas-Boas has confirmed Brad Friedel will start in goal for Tottenham Hotspur against Reading on Sunday, but insists there is 'no issue' with new signing Hugo Lloris.
Spurs signed Lloris from Lyon before the transfer window closed and there were many who expected the France international to immediately replace Friedel.
However, Friedel's impressive display against Norwich City prompted Villas-Boas to say the 41-year-old remained his No.1, comments which disappointed France coach Didier Deschamps.
Lloris also conceded it was 'not nice to hear', however, Villas-Boas has spoken to the 25-year-old and explained why he is sticking with Friedel against Reading.
"We have had a conversation with Hugo. We are extremely happy that he is part of this squad. We have no doubts about his talent and his future in the club, but against Reading we have made the decision to continue with Brad," said Villas-Boas.
"At the moment we feel that Brad is looking consistent and deserves (to play) bearing in mind his last performance against Norwich, and against West Brom, which was extremely positive.
"Hugo just has to be patient and of course he will be patient. He knows that he competes for the first team. He told me: 'I'm here to compete and I'm here to prove that I'm the best'.
"When you hear this from a player you know that the commitment is there for him to make sure that he gets into that position, so there is no issue whatsoever."
Excellent grab
Villas-Boas already had three goalkeepers on his books - Heurelho Gomes, Carlo Cudicini and Friedel - by the time he landed Lloris, who captained France to wins over Finland and Belarus during the international break.
The Portuguese insists signing Lloris will prove to be the right move in the long-term, however, as he looks to lower the average age of his first team.
"We've decided, bearing in mind what we want to do regarding the future, we needed to bring a player of Hugo's talents to the team as soon as possible - and bearing in mind the market possibilities and the price that we got for Hugo, it was an excellent grab for us," Villas-Boas said.
Lloris may even miss out on a place on Tottenham's bench for Sunday's game as he has only trained once with the squad since his move due to the international break.
"I haven't decided (whether he will be on the bench)," added the Spurs boss.
"I will decide after training tomorrow, but he will be in contention after the game against Reading, because he will also have more time with the team, more time to know his team-mates."
http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11675/8078979/Andre-Villas-Boas-confirms-Brad-Friedel-will-start-for-Tottenham-against-Reading
Spurs signed Lloris from Lyon before the transfer window closed and there were many who expected the France international to immediately replace Friedel.
However, Friedel's impressive display against Norwich City prompted Villas-Boas to say the 41-year-old remained his No.1, comments which disappointed France coach Didier Deschamps.
Lloris also conceded it was 'not nice to hear', however, Villas-Boas has spoken to the 25-year-old and explained why he is sticking with Friedel against Reading.
"We have had a conversation with Hugo. We are extremely happy that he is part of this squad. We have no doubts about his talent and his future in the club, but against Reading we have made the decision to continue with Brad," said Villas-Boas.
"At the moment we feel that Brad is looking consistent and deserves (to play) bearing in mind his last performance against Norwich, and against West Brom, which was extremely positive.
"Hugo just has to be patient and of course he will be patient. He knows that he competes for the first team. He told me: 'I'm here to compete and I'm here to prove that I'm the best'.
"When you hear this from a player you know that the commitment is there for him to make sure that he gets into that position, so there is no issue whatsoever."
Excellent grab
Villas-Boas already had three goalkeepers on his books - Heurelho Gomes, Carlo Cudicini and Friedel - by the time he landed Lloris, who captained France to wins over Finland and Belarus during the international break.
The Portuguese insists signing Lloris will prove to be the right move in the long-term, however, as he looks to lower the average age of his first team.
"We've decided, bearing in mind what we want to do regarding the future, we needed to bring a player of Hugo's talents to the team as soon as possible - and bearing in mind the market possibilities and the price that we got for Hugo, it was an excellent grab for us," Villas-Boas said.
Lloris may even miss out on a place on Tottenham's bench for Sunday's game as he has only trained once with the squad since his move due to the international break.
"I haven't decided (whether he will be on the bench)," added the Spurs boss.
"I will decide after training tomorrow, but he will be in contention after the game against Reading, because he will also have more time with the team, more time to know his team-mates."
http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11675/8078979/Andre-Villas-Boas-confirms-Brad-Friedel-will-start-for-Tottenham-against-Reading
) with one of the coaches.
