New Tottenham signing Brad Friedel is hoping for a starting spot on the opening day of the season when Everton travel to White Hart Lane next month.
Friedel signed from Aston Villa on a free last month to compete with Heurelho Gomes and Carlo Cudicini for the number one spot.
However, with manager Harry Redknapp’s confidence in current number one Gomes diminishing following a series of high profile errors, many have speculated that the 40-year-old has come in to replace the Brazilian between the sticks.
Now Friedel, who turned down the chance to sign for Liverpool and West Brom, has revealed he joined Spurs to be the teams number one.
“My ambition is to get the number one spot. That’s one of the reasons why I signed with Tottenham – to play football,” Friedel told the club’s official website.
“Obviously the decision is down to the manager but I am just going to go out and work as hard as I can now. Hopefully I will be the number one goalkeeper.”
Friedel, however, conceded that it will be difficult to dis-lodge Gomes and expects tough competition from the former PSV stopper and Cudicini.
“Every club now has at least two top-quality goalkeepers. That’s been the same at every club I have been at,” Friedel added.
“You are always going to have two keepers who are going to want to play and bust a gut to make sure they do play and that’s no different here.”
The former USA number one has also confessed that he never thought he would leave Villa but after Martin O’Neill’s resignation and Gerard Houiller’s troubled reign, he felt his future would be best served elsewhere.
“I just wanted to get through to Christmas and I always thought that if I was fit enough I would end up re-signing for Villa,” Friedel added.
“They did offer me a contract but when I had six months left I got offers from a few clubs.
“I just felt that after speaking with the chairman and the gaffer here that this was the place I wanted to be. I liked the prospect of trying to get the team back into the Champions League.”
Friedel has also revealed he has ever played in a squad as talented as the current Spurs one and that he is confident they can re-break the top four again next season.
“The squad that has been pulled together here is a very talented squad, one of the most talented squads that I have ever been in.
“We had a very good run in the Champions League last season. We weren’t far off qualifying for it again through the league and we won’t be far off again this season,” he concluded.
