Chris Gunter has received assurances that he has a future at Tottenham Hotspur despite joining Nottingham Forest on loan this month. The Wales international, who made 12 appearances for Spurs this season before moving to the City Ground, maintains he made the right decision when he left Cardiff for Tottenham in a £2m deal last year and is confident he will be given the opportunity to flourish under Harry Redknapp, the Spurs manager.
The 19-year-old admitted there have been occasions when he has felt "frustrated" at Tottenham but, pointing to his age and Redknapp's reputation for blooding younger players, he remains optimistic that his opportunity will come. He also believes there might have been more chances to impress this season but for Tottenham's relegation battle.
"You want to play at every club you're at and, yes, there are times you get frustrated, but sometimes I've been on the bench at Tottenham alongside players who have played 200-plus Premier League games and they're not happy either," said Gunter, who is set to win his 13th and 14th caps against Finland on Saturday and Germany next Wednesday as Wales seek to keep alive hopes of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup.
Asked whether he thought he would be part of Redknapp's new regime at Tottenham, Gunter replied: "Yes, that's what I've been told. I think there's a great group of young players there and I think the manager's shown in his previous jobs that he'll give youngsters the chance. [But] maybe he thought that now wasn't the time to play youngsters."
Gunter admitted that the importance of retaining his international place also played a part in his decision to join Forest until the end of the season. "I got to the stage where I thought it would be nice to go out and play every week," added the full-back. "I also had Wales in the back of my mind with these two big games coming up and I couldn't be in better condition. If we can win on Saturday against Finland it will set us up for the Germany game."
Wales's hopes of picking up three points against Finland have been boosted by the news that Craig Bellamy has come through training without problems following his return from a knee injury. John Toshack, the manager, is also hopeful that James Collins will be available, with the West Ham central defender set to take part in full training despite not having played since he tore his hamstring last month.
