Roman Pavlyuchenko: Something has to change, otherwise I risk being passed over for Euro 2012

Russian forward of Tottenham Hotspur Roman Pavlyuchenko spoke about his current situation at the club and said that if it persists he may well miss the next Euro 2012.

«The player always feels when the team counts on him. Frankly, I feel that today the manager doesn’t count on me. It means something has to change. The European championship is approaching, and that’s an additional reason why I must play. Otherwise there is danger of being passed over for the Euro.

«You won’t be selected for the big tournaments for your past achievements. Meanwhile, I will turn 30 in December, and the European championship in Poland and Ukraine may become the last major tournament for me. Of course, I still hope to God to start playing regularly at Tottenham. This is football, everything can happen. I will fight. As they say, Russians don’t surrender.

«The basic part of my contract with Tottenham expires next summer, then the club has the option to unilaterally renew it for a year or abstain. My desire won’t matter.

«Nevertheless, I’m not satisfied with the position of the team’s fourth forward. As well as the fact that I take part in cup competitions, but don’t play in the league. I would like to be fielded in major games, rather than being on the team just to create competition for the others. I want to fight for the league title, for a place in the top four. Let’s face it: nobody cares here for the Europa League, where I in fact play most of my time.

«Our manager said the other day that I don’t get a place in the starting lineup because of a poor pre-season. I can’t understand that. At least because Redknapp himself was not with the team during the first half of the pre-season, and he couldn’t see personally how I trained. And in general, in my opinion, I don’t agree with his opinion on this situation. I worked in the same way as the other players, giving the best of me,» Pavlyuchenko said in an interview with Sport-Express.