Robinson back to his best after Tottenham nightmare

Blackburn goalkeeper Paul Robinson returns to Tottenham on Sunday with his confidence only just restored after the nightmare end to his time at White Hart Lane.

Robinson accused former Tottenham boss Juande Ramos of shattering his already fragile morale at a vital time last season.

The England international was dropped by Ramos for the final two months of the last campaign after a series of erratic performances.

Ramos then barely spoke to Robinson before selling the keeper to Blackburn and signing Brazilian Heurelho Gomes as his replacement in the close-season.

But the move seems to have backed as Gomes's poor performances contributed to Ramos's sacking last month, while Robinson has been in good form for Blackburn and earned a late call-up to the England squad for their friendly in Germany this week.

Robinson said: “I had four years there, three and a half of which were probably the happiest times of my football career so far.

“It was difficult times towards the end, very difficult for me. I was not playing as well as I wanted to play, my confidence was a little bit low and that's the time you need the support and the strength of the people around you.

“You need the manager and the coaches to believe in you and I didn't get that.

“Confidence is the biggest part of the game for a goalkeeper. You stop coming for balls that you should come for, you start taking the safer option when you should be doing other things.

“Ramos' departure has worked out well for Tottenham, and me leaving at the time has worked out well for me. If I was still there at the beginning of this season with the run of results they had it could have been more detrimental for me.

“I'm really enjoying my football again now and my performances have been gradually improving. The manager here has been great for me and given me a lot of support and a lot of backing.”

Robinson sympathises with Gomes and believes the former PSV Eindhoven star can still come good if he given time to rebuild his confidence.

“He has not had a good time of it this season and to be honest I feel for him, because I know where he is and the situation he's going through,” Robinson said.

“He's a very good goalkeeper and showed great strength in character that he keeps coming for balls and keeps putting himself out there and doing what he knows is right.”

Robinson believes Tottenham's turnaround is due simply to Ramos's successor Harry Redknapp connecting with the players in a way that the Spaniard did not.

He added: “I certainly would have like to have played them the first couple of weeks of the season but Harry has come in and turned it around.

“His man-management and the way he has treated players has turned it around. It's the same bunch of players and they have a smile on their face again.”