Friedel, 40, signed for Spurs on a free transfer last month after turning down a new deal from Aston Villa and an offer from Liverpool. The fact Redknapp handed Friedel a two-year contract shows he has faith in the American despite his age, and he could start the season as Spurs' first-choice goalkeeper. Redknapp's confidence in Heurelho Gomes diminished towards the end of last term after the Brazilian produced a series of blunders that led fans to fear their number one was quickly returning to the kind of erratic form that dogged him shortly after he arrived in 2008. Friedel and Gomes both started training at the club's base in Chigwell, Essex, on Monday ahead of next week's pre-season tour of South Africa. And the veteran stopper hopes his performances over the coming weeks will lead to him starting in goal against Everton on the opening day of the season. "My ambition is to get the number one spot. That's one of the reasons why I signed with Tottenham - to play football," Friedel told Spurs' website. "Obviously the decision is down to the manager but I am just going to go out and work as hard as I can now. Hopefully I will be the number one goalkeeper." Despite his blunders, Gomes still put in some superb performances last season and Friedel acknowledges that he faces tough competition from the popular former PSV Eindhoven man and Carlo Cudicini. "Every club now has at least two top-quality goalkeepers. That's been the same at every club I have been at," Friedel said. "You are always going to have two keepers who are going to want to play and bust a gut to make sure they do play and that's no different here." Friedel admitted he never thought he would leave Villa last year, but the fall-out from Martin O'Neill's resignation just before the start of the season, and Gerard Houllier's troubled reign, convinced him that moving to London was a much better option. "I just wanted to get through to Christmas and I always thought that if I was fit enough I would end up re-signing for Villa," Friedel added. "They did offer me a contract but when I had six months left I got offers from a few clubs. "I just felt that after speaking with the chairman and the gaffer here that this was the place I wanted to be. I liked the prospect of trying to get the team back into the Champions League." While rumblings over the future of Luka Modric continue to dominate the headlines, Redknapp has been busy plotting to get Tottenham back into the Champions League. Despite reaching the quarter-finals of the competition last year, they could only finish fifth in the Premier League and had to settle for a place in the Europa League. Friedel has been impressed with what he has seen since arriving and is convinced the squad is capable of bouncing back to make the top four. "The squad that has been pulled together here is a very talented squad, one of the most talented squads that I have ever been in," Friedel added. "We had a very good run in the Champions League last season. We weren't far off qualifying for it again through the league and we won't be far off again this season."
