Ramos omits Berbatov

Last updated : 23 August 2008 By Gareth Davies

Juande Ramos has left Dimitar Berbatov out of the squad that faces Sunderland this afternoon. It had been thought that the forward would at least retain a place on the bench but it appears that Ramos has judged him not in the right frame of mind to play.

The head coach told the club's official website: "As I said on Thursday, I needed to wait and speak to the player when he returned from international duty and then make a decision about whether or not he was right to play in this game. I have not selected him as I do not think that he is focused enough and I do not feel that he will be good for the dressing room and the team effort.

"It doesn't matter how good a player is, if he is not in the right frame of mind, then he will not perform well. The only thing I concern myself with is picking the best team to try and win the game.

"I shall talk to the player tomorrow, he is our player and we shall work with him at training."

Omission from the match entirely casts huge doubt on Berbatov's future at the club. Reports from Manchester had suggested the Premier League Champions were close to giving up on their persuit of the player but they will be buoyed by this latest news.

Despite being questioned for not playing Berbatov against Middlesbrough last week, Ramos is right to leave him out entirely if he feels he would not perform at his best. Once again the level of professionalism demonstrated by a player who is played a large amount of money to represent the club is depressing and we here at SpursMad hope he is sold sooner rather than later, so everyone at Tottenham Hotspur can focus on the players who actually want to be at the club.