'I want to stay at Spurs', says Defoe

January 08, 2008 16:07 IST

England striker Jermain Defoe wants to remain at Tottenham Hotspur despite being told by manager Juande Ramos he can quit the English Premier League club.

"The manager has said I can leave if I want but I want to prove him wrong," Defoe told the Sun newspaper on Tuesday. "I want to stay here.

"He (Ramos) just said, 'You can leave if you want to'. Yet I have no intentions of leaving this club because I love it here."

The 25-year-old Defoe, one of four top strikers at Spurs including Robbie Keane, Dimitar Berbatov and Darren Bent, has been unable to claim a regular place in the starting lineup in the last year and a half.

The former West Ham United forward said he could not sign a new, long-term contract with the club unless Ramos started playing him regularly.

"How can I be expected to stay for the next few years if I am going to be on the bench all the time?", said Defoe.

"I don't think any player would accept that."

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