Robbie is keen to stay at Spurs, insists Jol
The Republic of Ireland’s leading goalscorer has started just four of Spurs’ last 12 games and stormed off down the tunnel when Jol chose to introduce Mido from the bench in the second half against Blues.
Keane was fined £10,000, sparking suggestions he would be on his way out of White Hart Lane in the summer after becoming frustrated at sitting on the bench.
But Jol last night played down the significance of Keane’s fine and insisted he had not been banished to train with the youth team.
“Have you seen our fines list? We have a code of conduct for everything, even for things like coming in late. If you don’t do that there will be anarchy at the club. It is a normal thing,” Jol said yesterday. “He was upset because he didn’t come on. I would normally put him on, especially at home, but this situation was different.
“We have had a chat. Nothing is more important than the club and he knows that. It is important we stay strong as a unit and that is why I don’t like it when players step out of line because the most important thing is that we achieve something. That was the case at Birmingham.
“But we dealt with that and he looked fresh again today in training and he looked fresh to be involved. It is not about him accepting my decision to put him on the bench. He was a bit emotional but he never causes me a problem. It is one of those things.
“He is a good player so there are always clubs interested in him but I don’t think there will be any changes because of this incident.
“I think he is happy to stay at Spurs. He knows he is an important player for us. He has been involved in a lot of games for us this season, more than Fredi Kanoute, and he is productive for us.”
Meanwhile, Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has suggested his former club Valencia may have been guilty of an illegal approach to Czech striker Milan Baros.
Juan Soler, the president of the Spanish club, told a local radio station that they were “negotiating” with Baros, even though he has two years left to run on his contract with Liverpool.
Benitez, who did not leave Valencia on the best of terms last summer, turned up the heat on his old club.
He said: “It is illegal to talk to a player with two more years of his contract to go. I prefer not to talk about these things, and I need to discuss this with people at this club.
“But the situation is that he is our player and has two more years of his contract with this club still to go. I am not worried about Baros. If what their president has said is true maybe it is time to ask them about the situation.”
The Spaniard also played down talk of Michael Owen returning to Anfield from Real Madrid this summer.
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