• Premier League

Adebayor reveals Villas-Boas fallout

Emmanuel Adebayor has flourished again under new Tottenham boss Tim Sherwood © PA Photos

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Emmanuel Adebayor has revealed to Sky Sports he had private and public fall-outs with boss Andre Villas-Boas before the Portuguese coach cast him into exile at the start of this season.

Villas-Boas made it clear to Adebayor that he was not part of his first-team plans and forced him to train with the club's junior players as he was replaced by summer signing Roberto Soldado in the Spurs line-up.

However, Adebayor has flourished since Tim Sherwood replaced Villas-Boas as Tottenham boss and now he has lifted the lid on his heated discussions with the departed Spurs head coach.

"He brought his ideas and I told him: 'Your ideas will not help the team'," Adebayor said in an interview broadcast on Sky Sports. "I have had a chance to play for a lot of top clubs in my career and I know how it's supposed to be. I told him one v. one and he didn't want to listen, and then I told him in front of the group.

"Maybe it was a mistake. Maybe it was a good one, maybe it was a bad one. I don't know, but I spoke my mind."

Adebayor admits his desire to prove his doubters wrong has been a driving force behind his revival, which has seen him score five goals in eight Premier League matches.

"I remember in early September I did an interview saying it would not take me long to be the number one striker again in Tottenham and a lot of fans jumped on that saying: 'Oh, who does he think he is?'" Adebayor said. "These are the things that give me more motivation and these are the things that keep me going.

"When you wake up and you realise that there are a lot of haters out there and you want to prove them wrong, you just keep focused and keep doing what you love best, which is playing football, scoring goals and having fun."

Adebayor went on to offer hearty praise for his new boss Sherwood, as he suggested the former midfielder has a more open-minded approach to the game than his predecessor.

"I know Tim quite well, so for me, to be honest with you, I was impressed because I know the manager, the person, the personality," Adebayor said. "At the moment, this is what is happening and I am very happy.

"I know what Tim can bring into the club and we all see what he has brought into the club. For me, he is an unbelievable man, a nice guy with a huge character.

"He has been there for me since day one and he just told me 'Adebayor, I know how good you can be, I know you can be a very important player for this squad and to fight for the team. If you fight for the team, the team will be behind you'."

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