Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has warned striker Roman Pavlyuchenko to up his game if he is to force his way back into the the first team.
The 29-year-old has only made one Premier League appearance this season, appearaing from the bench in the in the 3-0 defeat to Manchester United in the first game of the campaign.
Emmanuel Adebayor’s arrival, coupled with the form of the resurgent Jermain Defoe, has seen the Russian international’s chances limited to cup appearances.
It is the partnership between the two that has seen the former Spartak Moscow forward condemned to a bench role, and Redknapp believes the player needs to show more fight if he is to force his way back into the managers plans.
“Hopefully he will come to life. “When he is up for it, he can play,” Redknapp said of Pavlyuchenko.
“But there’s a good understanding developing between Adebayor and Jermain Defoe.
“Those two are going well. Rafa van der Vaart plays off the main striker as well so there is competition there for a place.”
Pavlyuchenko arrived in 2008 but lack of opportunities this season has seen him linked with a move back to Russia when the transfer window re-opens in January.