Adebayor: I have nothing to prove

Crystal Palace’s new signing Emmanuel Adebayor said he has nothing to prove.

Adebayor said that he does not deserve to be labelled a disruptive influence in the dressing room.

The Togo striker, who joined his fourth Premier League club last week, made his debut in Tuesday’s 2-1 Premier League defeat by relegation-threatened Bournemouth.

Prior to his move to Palace, the 31-year-old was a free agent after being released by Tottenham Hotspur in the close season and had played just 17 minutes of top-flight football in a little over a year.

“There is a bad reputation about Adebayor. But if you ask every single manager that I have worked under, maybe just one or two would say I am a bad apple in the dressing room,” Adebayor told the Evening Standard newspaper.

“I just want to play football and have happy moments again. I do not have anything to prove. I just want to enjoy my football. I have been there and done it and I am pleased to be back.”
Adebayor said he had held talks with manager Alan Pardew over taking a leadership role in the Palace camp.

“He said I have to be a leader, which means I have to set an example. Which means I have to come on time in training, do my job professionally and that is what I am doing,” the former Arsenal striker said.

Meanwhile, Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce said his side were in “big trouble” despite producing their best performance of the season in Tuesday’s 1-0 Premier League defeat by Manchester City. With Bournemouth winning and Swansea City picking up a point, Allardyce said it was a bleak night for the Black Cats. — Reuters