Tottenham striker Emmanuel Adebayor feels like Harry Redknapp has given him his life back following his loan switch to north London.
Adebayor scored his fourth and fifth goals since signing on a season-long loan from Manchester City as Tottenham moved up to third in the Barclays Premier League with a comfortable 2-0 win over Aston Villa on Monday night.
"For me it's always special to have a manager like him," Adebayor said. "He has given me confidence, has given me my life back. He tells me before every game: 'Adebayor - go out there, you know what you can do, just enjoy your football. If you can score goals, score goals, make assists, keep doing your thing,' and that's it."
He added: "I don't have any pressure on my head telling myself I have to score to keep my place now. I just have to do the job and I think at the moment I am doing it very well."
After making a successful return to the dugout following minor heart surgery, Redknapp lavished praise on his players, with particular focus being on Luka Modric, who starred in midfield.
Redknapp urged Daniel Levy to give the Croatian a new contract, but he is also keen for the Spurs chairman to sign Adebayor on a permanent basis.
Adebayor's wages - thought to be around ?170,000 a week - are likely to be a sticking point as he wants to continue giving a large portion of his earnings charities in Africa, but still hopes a permanent deal can be struck.
"We all play football to gain money," Adebayor said.
"I am from Africa and I have to give something back to my community. I have been doing a lot of charity stuff.
"I am using my wages to do it and I will keep doing it until the end of my career so for me I will leave that (negotiations) to Harry Redknapp, chairman (Daniel) Levy, and (City chairman) Khaldoon (Al Mubarak) to find a solution between themselves."
Source: PA
Source: PA