Lack of games could be a hinderence to new striker

NO-ONE can question the ability of Robbie Keane, but it is asking a lot for him to score the goals to save the club from the drop.

I have always been a huge fan and he is such a good goal scorer, but he has barely played for Spurs this season and his fitness could be in question.

There are just 14 games left in the season and it could take Robbie half a dozen to find his best form.

Let’s hope the coaches do a lot of specific coaching with him to help him get sharper.

He did well at Celtic last season and scored a lot of goals so I am sure he would have hoped to stake a claim for a regular spot at Spurs.

Unfortunately for him it has not quite worked out and he will be desperate to show what he can do and who knows, maybe secure a permanent deal, if West Ham don’t go down.

Demba Ba is another striker who has joined the club and it gives boss Avram Grant plenty of striking options.

There are nine strikers currently available to the manager now and he can’t use the lack of options as an excuse for not scoring goals!

One of the nine is Victor Obinna who hit a stunning hat trick against Nottingham Forest.

There have been times when he has looked so good for us this season, but his problem has been consistency.

Let’s hope this hat-trick will give him the confidence to really push on and make his mark.

Obvious I know, but they really do your confidence the World of good and I can tell you from personal experience that you are desperate to go out and get the same feeling you had when you scored a treble.

Forest was an odd game and although West Ham were poor in the first half, we played well in the second half, totally dominated and could have won a greater margin. It was pleasing we created so many chances.

Lee Camp played really well for Forest and made a number of good saves to keep them in it.

They kind of fell apart in the second period as Dele Adebola tired and they struggled to maintain possession.

The first half was a different story however and the visitors played really well. They pushed men forward and caused all sorts of problems.

We were all over the place in the first half, but we had made nine changes from the defeat against Birmingham last Wednesday and it took time for the players to gel.

The draw for the fifth round was kind and to play Burnley at home is a good draw.

Portsmouth only played one Premier League team on the road to the final last year and so far we have drawn three Championship sides.

Maybe Grant is a lucky omen?

I firmly believe the longer we stay in the FA Cup the better.

Wins breed confidence and it can create momentum.

Can you imagine how down would be if we had lost to Forest, on the back of that Carling Cup semi-final defeat to Birmingham last Wednesday?

Tony Cottee was talking to Matt Diner