Tottenham’s forgotten man hopes AVB appointment will herald return to first-team action

Tottenham midfielder David Bentley is hoping to force his way back into the first team at White Hart Lane after being frozen out by departed manager, Harry Redknapp.

Andre Villas-Boas has been named as Spurs’ new head coach and the midfielder is hoping he will be part of the new era.

“With the new manager, the new era, the new training ground, hopefully I can be a new player, with a new attitude and a new way of doing things,” Bentley told The People.

“I’ve already spoken to the manager and he just said, ‘You’ve got a clean slate, so do what you can do and try to impress.

“This is a chance for me to get back on the good wave now and, if I can be a part of it, that’d be great.”

Under Redknapp, the 27-year-old was loaned out to Birmingham and West Ham but has not found the form of his Blackburn days, where he was a regular for manager Mark Hughes.