Forgotten Russian Pavlyuchenko eventually finds his feet at Spurs

Tottenham striker Roman Pavlyuchenko has, by his manager's admissions taken his recent opportunity terrifically and has earned himself a regular run in the side.

The Russian, who was in-part responsible for England's failure to qualify for Euro 2008, disappointed manager Harry Redknapp with his attitude concerning lack of first-team action.

Pavlyuchenko came off the bench with Steve McClaren's England leading 1-0 and turned the game with a brace to secure a 2-1 win in Moscow in England's penultimate qualifier.

He followed that up with another decent season at Spartak Moscow and impressed at the European Championships, netting three goals, prompting Tottenham to shell out a reported £14m for his services.

Pavlyuchenko struggled to settle at White Hare Lane though and has only managed 35 games for Tottenham since his joined, starting four times in all competitions this term after a disappointing first season in England.

His brace when coming on as a 74th minutes substitute against Wigan last month forced Redknapp to give him a chance and he has started the four games since, scoring a further five goals in those games.

Pavlyuchenko has managed 10 goals in his 35 games for Tottenham, but seven of those have come in five games over the last month.

His recent form has kept Peter Crouch out of the side, despite an impressive brace when coming on as a second half substitute for England last month.

Spurs remain in pole position in the race for fourth place and it will be a real vote of confidence for Pavlyuchenko if he gets the nod ahead of the height of Crouch when Spurs travel to face a tall and physical Stoke side on Saturday.