Walker: Ade just a gentle giant
Spurs' search for a goalscoring targetman came to an end earlier this month when they signed Adebayor on loan from Manchester City. The 27-year-old was a controversial signing, and not just because of his previous three seasons at Spurs' bitter north London rivals Tottenham. Adebayor also arrived at White Hart Lane with a reputation for having a fiery temperament that at times could be hard to deal with. The Togo striker had a heated on-field spat with team-mate Nicklas Bendtner during his time at Arsenal and also publicly fell out with City boss Roberto Mancini, hastening his loan move to Real Madrid last year and subsequent switch to Tottenham. Adebayor's skills on the pitch have never been in question - that was evident last week when he scored on his debut - and Walker moved to play down concerns over the striker's temperament this week, saying: "Is he as fierce as he looks? No. He is a soft giant, I think. "We have seen throughout the years what a good player he is. He scores goals and he is a good guy. "I have had a few conversations with him. He speaks really good English and he is good to have around." After drawing 0-0 with PAOK Salonika in their opening Europa League Group A game in midweek, Spurs return to Barclays Premier League action tomorrow when they take on Liverpool at White Hart Lane. After a disappointing opening-day draw against Sunderland, Kenny Dalglish's new-look side looked in supreme form as they swept past Arsenal and Bolton before last weekend's shock defeat at Stoke. Walker, who was the only player to take part in the games at Molineux and PAOK, thinks the Reds will be looking to bounce back immediately but is sure that Spurs' quality will give them the edge. "It's a big game on Sunday," the full-back said. "Liverpool will be looking to prove a point after what happened at Stoke and they will come right at us but hopefully we can get the result. "With the personnel that we have in our dressing room, we know we can beat anyone on our day. "We've got the likes of Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon on the wings and Rafael van der Vaart in the hole, Luka Modric in midfield... I could go on. It's unbelievable. "We just need to gel as a team, play as we are taught how to play and the result will come for us." Injuries to Michael Dawson and William Gallas mean that Ledley King is likely to start in defence alongside Younes Kaboul. King had another injury-hit year at White Hart Lane last term, making just nine appearances thanks to a groin injury on top of the chronic knee problems which prevent him from training like the rest of his team-mates. One of the few plus points of King's season last year was his performance at Liverpool where he kept Liverpool danger man Luis Suarez quiet on his comeback. King remembers the game well and is relishing the challenge of shackling the Uruguay striker tomorrow. "I love playing against top players," the Spurs club captain said. "When I faced him at Anfield last season I'd been out for seven months out and I wasn't sure about my groin. Suarez was on fire, but that's the kind of challenge I like. "I wasn't worried about what would happen in the game due to Suarez, it was more about whether I'd get through the game, but he's definitely a quality player." King thinks the 2-0 win at Anfield, which all but secured Tottenham's Europa League qualification last year, will give the Londoners a psychological advantage tomorrow. "We played them at the end of last season and got a good result at Anfield, so we know we can beat them," he said.