David Pleat has moved swiftly to deny that Japanese midfielder Kazuyuki Toda is set to leave the club in January. It was reported that Toda would be released when his loan contract ends, but Pleat has stated that this is not the case. He told the Spurs official website that he had spoken to a number of Japanese journalists after Sunday's draw with Middlesbrough, but had not told them that Toda was on his way. Pleat had stated that, 'I said we may not, and that we would do everything possible to help Kazu in the meantime. He is a very good trainer and a nice man'.
A nice man maybe, but not good enough to come into a midfield that has ben struggling in recent weeks, and Pleat did acknowledge this: 'We have midfield players here at the moment who are forging ahead and we have other midfield players who, I believe, are ahead of Kazu in terms of the senior team'. It is unlikely that Pleat has Toda in his long term plans, so the denial seems more of a sympathetic apology.