Tottenham star Tom Huddlestone: We’ve played massive games but it has been a disappointing season

Tom Huddlestone (getty Images)

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By Wayne Veysey at White Hart Lane

Tom Huddlestone has spoken of his frustration at missing a huge chunk of what has been a “disappointing” season for Tottenham.

The England midfielder missed five months following an ankle operation in November, and made a brief return to the team before the injury flared up again.

His latest comeback came at White Hart Lane on Sunday as he played 84 minutes of Spurs’ dramatic 2-1 win over Birmingham City but Huddlestone admitted it had been tough watching from the sidelines for so long.

“It’s been very frustrating, especially the size of the games that we’ve played and the ones I’ve missed,” Huddlestone said. “But injuries happen and I’ve known for a couple of years that I would eventually need an operation on my ankle, so it was sort of a case of when, not if. There were a few loose bodies floating around the joint which is why sometimes it was okay and sometimes it wasn’t.

“I had a little setback recently and they scanned and x-rayed it, everything is fine and the surgeon was very happy with the results. I think at the time he did say it would take a while – I would be back playing but it would still be in the healing process.

“I have only trained twice in the last three weeks, so it was a little bit of a surprise for the manager to put me in from the beginning. But I felt okay. My ankle felt decent enough. It was a little bit stiff at the beginning of the second half but once I got it moving again it felt alright.

“Once you are out there, you put it to the back of your mind. As long as you’re not in agony, really. You feel little things every so often but everything goes to the back of your mind when there’s a tackle or a shot to be made.”

Spurs clinched fifth place on Sunday as they ended the season with 62 points – eight less than 12 months ago – and the Londoners will line up in the Europa League next season.

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“It’s been disappointing,” admitted Huddlestone. “Obviously, you want to better yourself every year. We’ve scored less goals, which is also a disappointment. It was a learning curve as well. We weren’t maybe used to having the Champions League football, massive games.

“Our main objective next season has got to be to finish in the top four again. But as Man City have shown, if you are consistent towards the end of the season then you might be able to finish in the top three.

“The chairman Daniel Levy has come out and said we don’t need to sell. It has taken us a few years to get a squad together like this, so it would be a shame if we did. In football you never know what will happen. It will be an interesting summer, I’m sure.”

England play Switzerland in a Euro 2012 qualifier on June 4 but Huddlestone does not expect to be part of Fabio Capello’s plans.

He said: “I’ve only been in three or four England squads. It is something I want to do more regularly but that’s not my main focus at the minute. It’s trying to get us back in the Champions League next season.

“When I have been injured the lads have played very well so it’s going to be hard enough to get back into the Tottenham team, never mind the England squad.”

Huddlestone says there is relief in the squad that Spurs qualified for the Europa League through their league position rather than achieving it through Uefa’s Fair Play league, which would have meant the team having to play in the early rounds from June 30.

“Personally, it wouldn’t have mattered too much as I have missed a lot of this season,” said Huddlestone. “For the lads like Daws (Michael Dawson) and Aaron Lennon, who went to the World Cup, if they have had no break last summer and this summer, and then if England qualify for the Euros next season, it would be three or four seasons on the spin without a rest. It will benefit us in the long run.

“With the squad we have got, the manager will be able to rest a lot of players and we still have quality. We saw a few years ago Fulham had a decent run and managed to keep a good performance level in the league, too.”