Sean Davis: It fell apart straightway at Spurs, I didn’t like how I was treated - thankfully Portsmouth came along

The combative midfielder joined Jacques Santini’s side from Fulham in July 2004, yet the move soon turned sour.

A knee injury and dispute with the club condemned Davis to training with the reserves after just 17 first-team appearances.

However, Harry Redknapp snapped up the former Chelsea youngster along with White Hart Lane team-mates Pedro Mendes and Noe Pamarot in January 2006.

The triple swoop was designed to fire up Pompey’s bid to avoid relegation – and Davis was a pivotal presence in that successful outcome.

Davis told The News: ‘I was at the point where I wasn’t even training with the first-team at Tottenham. When I came to Pompey, I was 50 per cent fit.

‘I was training with reserve coach Clive Allen and the kids, just five of us, crossing and shooting with no goalkeeper.

‘Then, someone from the first-team got injured, so somebody came across to find one of us to train with them. They picked a kid instead of me – so I kind of knew it was curtains then. I was the only senior player there!

‘One of my problems at Spurs was being injured. I’ve had trouble with my right knee ever since I joined, which wouldn’t allow me to train as hard as I wanted. Yet I was always the type of player who trained the way I played.

‘The other issue was me being stubborn at the time and not agreeing with how I was being treated.

‘Looking back, maybe I didn’t deal with it in the best way, but I’ve always been a person who treats you how you treat me.

‘When I joined Tottenham, my ex-partner was having a baby and she was premature. I was injured at the time and felt they showed no compassion towards me, which got my back up straight away.

‘My little girl was born 10 weeks premature and they were still making me come in. There was a lot going on.

‘Was I to blame for some of it? Yes, probably. Would I change certain things? Yes, but I don’t regret it. That is who I was, you only learn in life through mistakes.

‘It fell apart straightaway, I felt I did okay but at a club like Tottenham they’re always going to bring in bigger and better players.’

Davis would go on to make 116 appearances for Pompey, scoring three times.

And he straightaway felt at home at Fratton Park.

He added: ‘I started at Fulham in Division Three, so being at Pompey’s training ground with Portacabins was normal for me. I was at Fulham with no money before Mohamed Al-Fayed came in.

‘Things like that build great team spirit – and the first thing I found when I joined Pompey was how good the team spirit was.

‘That kept us up – along with Pedro Mendes and Matty Taylor’s penalties.’

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