BY PAT MOONEY JERMAINE Jenas does not fear for his place following the signing of Luka Modric at the weekend. The England midfielder believes the arrival of the Croatian master can only enhance the strength of the current Spurs midfield as Juande Ramos m

BY PAT MOONEY

JERMAINE Jenas does not fear for his place following the signing of Luka Modric at the weekend.

The England midfielder believes the arrival of the Croatian master can only enhance the strength of the current Spurs midfield as Juande Ramos moves to build his own team at the Lane.

"I've had to fight all my career," Jenas told Wood&Vale Sport. "When I was at Newcastle there were top midfielders up there, players such as Gary Speed, Hugo Viana and Keiron Dyer.

"I had to do it up there and it was the same situation when I came down here. I think when you are at clubs like Spurs you expect to be fighting for your place."

Indeed, Jenas has been a regular starter under Ramos and is relishing the prospect of playing alongside the £15million-rated Modric. "It is a fantastic signing for the club and I'm delighted," said Jenas. "I watched him play in the Euro qualifier against England and he was fantastic in that game. Other than that I've not seen much of him but he's a top player and it is what this club is about."

Although several Champions League clubs as well as Newcastle and Manchester City were in for Modric, the midfielder said he was not surprised that the Lilywhites won the race for his signature.

"It says a lot about this club to sign players of that calibre," said Jenas. "He is a fantastic acquisition and for us to bring in players of that calibre just shows where the club is heading. It did not surprise me one bit that other big clubs were in for him. I know he is a top player."

The former Newcastle player said he agreed with Robbie Keane's recent comments that people would see the real Ramos team at Spurs next season. "I feel the same about that statement," he said. "A lot of the lads are looking forward to coming back and starting work again. We don't want to be lingering in that mid-table position come the end of the season again.

"It's been tough to be sitting where we have been. We know we are in mid table, safe, and can't move too far up or too far down."

Yet, Jenas refused to agree that Spurs are going through the motions. "We are professionals and we have a job to do," he said. "We are still getting paid and we have to go out there and put in performances. Our fans are paying their money and when you go out there you want to win."

Saturday's 1-1 draw against Bolton at the Lane was the club's fourth such result in a row but Jenas felt that it was a game Spurs should have won with something to spare. "It was unfair," he said. "We created enough chances to have won. Although Bolton fought well we deserved to win.

"I would not say we are on a bad run but it has been draw, draw, draw and draw. We are better than that. I think today was quite an unfair reflection on the game.

"We came off a bit frustrated. You could see from the outset what Bolton wanted to do. I thought we played well in the first half and moved the ball from side to side. At half time we felt we should have created one or two more chances and we needed to take a few more risks.

"We came out feeling quite optimistic at the start of the second half but then we conceded an early goal. It gave them a lift. But we created enough chances to have won it."

Tottenham visit another struggling side in Reading tomorrow for their penultimate Premier League game and Jenas expects more of the same. "It is going to be another tough game - Reading are fighting for their lives," he said. "Looking at the table it is very, very tight down there, so we are expecting another scrap."

However, you suspect Jenas will be up for it.

pat.mooney@hamhigh.co.uk