Carr awaits contract offer

Stephen Carr has put pressure on Tottenham to come up with a lucrative contract offer to persuade the defender to commit his future to the club.

Carr, 27, is out of contract in 18 months’ time and Tottenham must decide before next summer whether to cash in on him or offer him a deal that he cannot refuse.

The worst-case scenario would be losing another of their key assets for nothing, just as they did with Sol Campbell on a Bosman free transfer to Arsenal.

Newcastle are already said to be interested in luring Carr to St James’ Park, with Sir Bobby Robson reported to have had a £4m (€5.7m) package, including Nolberto Solano, turned down in the past.

Arsene Wenger is another known admirer of the talents of the Republic of Ireland international, but Spurs chairman Daniel Levy made it clear at the club’s annual general meeting last week that he would soon be making Carr a new contract offer.

The full-back nevertheless revealed in the aftermath of last night’s Carling Cup quarter-final defeat by Middlesbrough that the onus is firmly on Spurs to come up with the right deal.

“Sol Campbell isn’t Steve Carr at the end of the day. But I’ve only a year and a half left and I’ve got to keep my options open,” he insisted.

“We’ve had a very small talk with my agent and the club, that’s about it. There’s been no major talks about a new deal.

“If the deal’s right for me, I will stay. It’s a big contract for me so I’ll have to see how it goes with the club and if they’re willing to give me exactly what I want.”

Carr has now been at Tottenham for more than a decade, making 251 appearances since joining as a trainee, and should soon be entitled to a lucrative testimonial.

He told the Evening Standard: “I want to start winning things like every player out on that pitch but I’m part of a team who aren’t doing well enough at the moment. It’s up to me to turn it around.

“I can’t stand here and say ’I want to win things so I’m going elsewhere’. I’m at a very big club and it’s about getting us back on the right track.

“I’m not back to my best but I know I’ll get there. My form is okay but it could be better. It could always be better. You’re never the finished article.”

Carr, the stand-in captain in the absence of Jamie Redknapp, was as distraught as anyone at the club’s Carling Cup defeat, especially with Arsenal waiting to face the winners of the tie in the semi-finals.

Gus Poyet, who had his penalty saved by Mark Schwarzer in the shoot-out, admits he will have “a couple of bad days” in coming to terms with the setback before Spurs raise themselves to face Manchester United at White Hart Lane on Sunday.

Poyet told the club’s website, www.spurs.co.uk: “When you go into penalties, you know someone has to miss. Nobody wants to be that player.

“I’m very disappointed and very sorry for everyone because we worked hard and Kasey Keller was magnificent.

“I just wanted to see if the keeper would move. Maybe I played too safe. Kasey then saved Gaizka Mendieta’s penalty and I was so pleased, I thought we would come back but unfortunately Tano [Mauricio Taricco] then missed.

“Tano is really upset because he knew what he wanted to do, send the keeper the wrong way and place it the other side, but he hit the post. It’s quite hard to take.

“This happens though. I will be hard on myself and I will have a couple of bad days now but all you can do is keep going.”