Tottenham defender Sebastien Bassong open to QPR switch

(GETTY IMAGES)

Tottenham defender Sebastien Bassong would be open to the possibility of a January transfer to QPR after claiming he was unfairly left out of Spurs' first team at the start of the season.

Bassong was a regular part of Harry Redknapp's defence after signing in 2009, but has since fallen down the pecking order at White Hart Lane thanks to the emergence of Michael Dawson and Younes Kaboul, and the signing of William Gallas.

The Cameroon defender played 20 times in the 2009-10 season and is yet to start a Barclays Premier League game this term, with Redknapp preferring to play the former Newcastle man in the club's Europa League matches, where he has captained the team for the last three fixtures.

The 25-year-old was on the verge of joining QPR this summer, but the deal fell through after Spurs missed out on signing his replacement - Bolton's Gary Cahill.

Bassong played well in last night's 1-0 win over Rubin Kazan and is now set for a spell in Tottenham's league side thanks to injuries to Gallas, Dawson and Ledley King.

The defender is happy that he will get more game time, but admits he has found not playing this season hard to take.

"Has not playing often been difficult? Yes, of course. I'm human - I have feelings and emotions," Bassong said.

"But no matter what happens, I have to take it and move on. Yes, it's been difficult - my situation has been difficult, I think everyone knows that.

"I think maybe it wasn't that fair, but that's football and life is not fair sometimes, so what do you want me to do? I just keep playing and smiling. It's okay."

Now with the backing of Air Asia tycoon Tony Fernandes, QPR boss Neil Warnock has plenty of funds available for new signings in the January transfer window.

Bassong has been one of the names strongly linked with the west London outfit recently, but the centre-back hopes to take the upcoming opportunity of first-team football with both hands and persuade Redknapp he should be a regular in the league.

Should he fail to do so, however, Bassong would be open to leaving the club in January.

"I'm interested in everything," Bassong said. "I'm not going to say 'No, I'm not interested in anyone who's coming for me'.

"First of all, I want to play for Spurs. When I'm playing here, I'm happy. Then, if I'm not playing enough, then we're going to think about something else.

"But for now, I played last night, I've come back fine - I'm happy.

"When you get a chance to play, you feel more confident. When the manager gives you a chance to play, no matter which games it is, you feel better.

"You can express yourself and show people you're still here and that the manager can count on you. I think that's what I'm doing and I think I'm doing well."

Spurs head to Blackburn on Sunday on the back of a five-match unbeaten run which has seen them climb to sixth in the league after a poor start.

In contrast, their opponents are rooted to the foot of the table after a woeful start to their campaign which has led to many fans calling for Rovers manager Steve Keen to be sacked.

Bassong, who will start in defence alongside Spurs' only other fit centre-half, Kaboul, is expecting a hard game in the north-west despite their opposition's problems.

"It will be a tough game. We know what to expect - they're fighting for their lives at the bottom of the league so we'll have to be professional and do the job," Bassong said.

"Playing on Thursday and Sunday is tough so we'll have to recover very quickly."

PA