Keeper out to prove everyone wrong – again

MARTIN Dubravka admits that Newcastle United are eager to complete a Premier League double over Tottenham Hotspur tonight.

The Slovakia international revealed a Spurs steward told him they’d be thrashed 4-0 in the first match in the capital 11 months ago.

But Dubravka kept a clean sheet that day and emerged smiling after a tough workout at a scorching Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Dubravka said: “So many people told us we’d lose.

“Even the steward in the tunnel told me it would be 4-0 to Tottenham!

“I was glad that we proved we could be the top team.

“That is the beauty of the Premier League.”

United go into this game with 43 points in the bag for the season so far and know just one win from the last three matches would better their tally from the last two seasons.

Dubravka told Talksport: “We’re safe, in a position where we can be a bit more relaxed but at the same time we want to collect points and try to achieve the highest position as possible.

“We have another tough opponent in front of us and I hope we can achieve the same result as last time (1-0 in August) so why not try?

“So many people spoke about us at the start and said we’d be relegated.

“But as you can see are now in a position where we are safe.

“The season has been so long with the lockdown and it was difficult but it’s the same for everybody around the world.

“We had to cope with it. We have shown we can play some nice football so we’re pleased and hope we can keep going.”

United face a Tottenham side who beat Arsenal on Sunday but have been on the end of some hard-hitting criticism in the capital.

Indeed, former England international Paul Merson publicly stated that Harry Kane would not capture his red-hot form again as long as the ex-Chelsea boss was in charge.

Dubravka added: “It will always be like that – some people will be happy, some won’t. I think that Tottenham still have quality players and we have to be careful.

“We must be ready to fight for every ball.”

And on the prospect of facing Kane, Dubravka said: “You need to give him credit because he is one of the best strikers in the world. You need to stop him. We beat them in the first game 1-0 so we have to try to do the same. We have quality players too so it will be an interesting game.”

Dubravka and United can still finish 11th in the table, a feat that would be the second best final position in eight years.

Dubravka said: “I have my own ambitions and the team has similar ambitions. We will try to collect as many points as possible.”