Townsend - Big season for me

Having done so much to help England qualify for the World Cup, Townsend was a frustrated spectator after an ankle injury ruled him out for the end of last season, and he had to watch on as Roy Hodgson's men laboured through a bitterly disappointing all-too-brief stay in Brazil.

The midfielder did some media punditry at the World Cup before returning to London to continue his rehabilitation work, and he is determined to step things up again as new Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino puts the squad through their paces at Enfield this week.

"It is a big season for me

Last year was my breakthrough for club and country and now it is important I build on that and show a lot more consistency than I did last year," Townsend said to Spurs TV.

"I am 23 next week, so that will come with age, and hopefully I can build on what I did last season."

Townsend added: "I did not get much holidays, but it was important for me to make sure I was 100 per cent fit coming back to training so I can be fit and impress the manager."

Another player hoping for a fresh start under Pochettino is Emmanuel Adebayor.

The Togo forward was brought in from the cold by former boss Tim Sherwood last season, scoring 11 goals.

Adebayor aims to continue to impress former Saints manager Pochettino as Spurs look to improve on sixth place.

"My summer was great

The most important thing is to come back and train, to work hard," Adebayor said.

"Nothing is personal - I play for Tottenham and we are a team.

"So for me, our targets or objectives is to finish in the top four, and I want to help the team finish in the top four."

Pochettino has yet to bring in any new signings, with midfielder Jake Livermore being allowed to join Hull for £8million following a successful loan spell.

Spurs have been linked with Algeria international Yacine Brahimi and Standard Liege's Nigeria forward Imoh Ezekiel.

Source: PA