Sheringham: Pavlyuchenko still has a lot to offer

The 27-year-old has endured an exhaustive and frustrating first season at Spurs, arriving in North London last September having not had a significant rest from domestic duties with Spartak Moscow and international action with his country at Euro 2008.

The £13.8 million signing has made just 28 Premier League appearances for the club in 2008/09, scoring five goals, and appeared destined for the exit door last weekend, after storming down the tunnel following his substitution in Spurs' 2-1 win over Manchester City.

But having apologised for his actions and spoken with manager Harry Redknapp, the forward has revealed he has been set a target of 20 goals for next season, and is confident he will have no problem achieving it.

And former White Hart Lane icon Sheringham, who made more than 200 league appearances for Spurs scoring 98 times, has backed the front-man to continue his slow but steady progress in the Premier League.

"I think he's done very well, he's scored a few goals and had a good first season in English football," he exclusively told FourFourTwo.com at the first ever all-female Football Aid Charity game at Goodison Park.

"It's a squad game nowadays and Pavlyuchenko gives you something different that Robbie Keane and Jermain Defoe doesn't. It would be nice if Harry could keep him there so he has that different option which they'll need next season to win some games."

Spurs' season has undergone a rapid transformation following Redknapp's arrival from Portsmouth in October, taking Tottenham from the bottom of the league to within reach of Europe.

And Sheringham, who played under Redknapp for a season at Portsmouth in 2003/04, believes the 62-year-old will be able to take the Londoners even further in 2009/10.

"Harry certainly knows how to get the best out of his players," he said.

"He'll be looking to bring one or two new players in over the summer, once you've got your own players working for you it's easier to manage.

"He'll know who he wants to keep and who he wants to ship out and it'll be interesting to see who he goes for over the summer.

"I expect [Tottenham] to do a lot better from the start of the season."

Teddy Sheringham is working with Wrigley's Extra, official chewing gum of the Premier League, to celebrate the tensions of added time. 

So far this season 56 goals have been scored in these minutes that matter, influencing final league positions. Find out more at extra90plus.com.

NEWS: Pavlyuchenko promises 20 goals next season
NEWS: Pavlyuchenko: Ramos tried to sign me for Real
NEWS: Romantsev: Pav should have joined Arsenal

SPURS FANS! Check FourFourTwo.com’s ever-expandinginterviewsarchive for more stuff to read:
Web Exclusives Les Ferdinand, Paul Gascoigne, Gary Lineker, Glenn Hoddle, Frederic Kanoute
One on One Paul Gascoigne, Les Ferdinand, Ossie Ardiles
Boy's A Bit Special