Ledley King wants Tottenham to 'get their heads down'

The defender maintains no one at Tottenham Hotspur is getting carried away with talk of a Premier League title challenge.

Ledley King maintains no one at Tottenham Hotspur is getting carried away with talk of a title challenge.

Harry Redknapp's men have stormed into the top three of the Premier League following a run of just one defeat from 19 matches.

Spurs head to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday five points behind the leaders Manchester City.

Redknapp has urged his side to believe they can still have a say in the outcome of the championship, although said it will be a tough ask to overhaul both City and Manchester United - who visit White Hart Lane in March.

Centre-back King, however, feels everything has to be kept in perspective. "We are in a great position at the moment and have probably surprised a few people," King told talkSPORT. "At this stage of the season, to be talked about as still capable of winning the title is great for us.

"We are not getting too carried away at the moment, though. We are just getting our heads down and grinding out results."

Jermain Defoe, the Spurs striker, yesterday played down suggestions he is keen to move on, with Liverpool a reported destination. The England international has found himself down the pecking order behind on-loan Manchester City forward Emmanuel Adebayor for most of the season.

Defoe said on Sky Sports News: "At the end of the day it's not a case of me saying 'I want to go here, I'm not playing, I want to leave the club.' I've been here six years - I've never said that once. I think the fans know that.

"It's just a case of me playing. I could understand if I was 19, 20 and I had time on my hands, but I'm 29 now and, like I've always said, all I want to do is play football. It's as simple as that."

Under the terms of the loan deal, Adebayor cannot play against his parent club on Sunday, which could see Defoe handed a start.

Meanwhile, Gareth Bale the Spurs winger, was yesterday named in UEFA.com users' Team of the Year, which was voted for by around 380,000 visitors to the governing body's website.

Five players from the European champions Barcelona - Dani Alves, Gerard Pique, Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi - made the line-up along with the Real Madrid trio Iker Casillas, Marcelo and Cristiano Ronaldo, with Bayern Munich forward Arjen Robben and AC Milan centre-back Thiago Silva completing the team.

* Press Association