• Premier League

AVB: Spurs won't sit back against United

Andre Villas-Boas looks to continue his recent progress when Spurs visit Manchester United on Saturday, live on ESPN. Click here to subscribe

Andre Villas-Boas will be sending his side out to attack against Manchester United on Saturday - despite the fact that Tottenham have not won at Old Trafford since 1989.

Villas-Boas had a slow start after taking over at White Hart Lane, but has won over some of the supporters with a run of three wins in four matches and now hopes that breaking an old hoodoo can propel his side to success this season.

"That is the way I like my teams to play," Villas-Boas said, when asked whether Spurs would be attacking United. "We obviously know that it is extremely difficult there, but that doesn't mean that you might not be given a chance when you play that [attacking] way."

Villas-Boas' first trip to Old Trafford, as manager of Chelsea, ended in a 3-1 defeat with the Blues blown out of the water in the first half.

"In the end it's about taking your opportunities. Had [Chelsea] scored, then maybe the result would have been different, so to try to get a result against United will be excellent for us," he added.

"It would make us very proud to go there and get a win that would shorten the distance to the top. That would hopefully help us profit in some way from the clash between Arsenal and Chelsea.

"We can't run away from our responsibilities. The statistics are there. We hope to break them one day, and hopefully it will be on Saturday."

While Villas-Boas is expected to leave France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris on the bench again, 21-year-old Andros Townsend may have earned himself a chance after impressing against Carlisle in the Capital One Cup.

"In the last couple of games that he has played, he has made quite the difference in terms of his contribution to the team," the manager said.

"Obviously he is competing against the best players in the world with Gareth Bale, Aaron Lennon and Clint Dempsey so it's difficult, but if a player so young like this triumphs over players of this dimension, then the future is his."

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