Exclusive – O’Hara ready to quit Tottenham for first-team football
Jamie O’Hara has told talkSPORT he would love nothing more than to be a Tottenham regular – but accepts he’s likely to leave the club for the first-team football he craves.
The midfielder had been hoping to break into Harry Redknapp’s starting XI this year after spending last season on loan at Portsmouth but has yet to feature due to a serious back injury.
He is now approaching a return to training but, while he would love to remain at White Hart Lane, O’Hara admits his future more than likely lies away from north London.
“I’m 24 now, I’ve had a season in the Premiership and I’ve had a couple of seasons coming off the bench at Tottenham and now I want to settle down somewhere," O’Hara told Hawksbee and Jacobs.
“I want to be a key part of the team. I’ve always wanted to do that at Tottenham but if it doesn’t work out then I’ll have to look elsewhere.
“I’m not even training yet and I’m being linked to other clubs. It’s obviously flattering to have that interest from other clubs but to be honest all I’m thinking about at the moment is getting back fit and whatever happens in January is going to be a bonus."
O’Hara has been linked with a loan move, with West Ham one of the clubs said to be keen, but the 24-year-old is only interested in a permanent switch.
He added: “I want to go to a club where I can put some roots down and hopefully become a fan favourite and stay at a club for a few years. I don’t want to be coming into clubs playing for three months, coming back.
“If I do go and things don’t work out here at Tottenham then I’m going to be looking for somewhere where I’m going to stay for four or five years. That’s something I want to do now, I don’t want to be moving around all the time.
“I’ve never wanted to leave Tottenham but there comes a point in your career if you’re not playing games you’ve got to look at yourself and think well this is my career. I want to be playing football, I’m not one of these people that want to sit in the bench and play one in four."
O'Hara enjoyed playing under Avram Grant at Portsmouth, but insists he has yet to hear from the now Hammers boss over a possible move to Upton Park.
He added: "I always had a great relationship with Avram. I see him as a philosopher of football, he wasn't the sort of guy who gets up off the bench screaming and shouting - he's not that type of person.
"He took a calmer approach to it, kind of like Arsene Wenger in a way. It just hasn't worked out for him [at West Ham]. Hopefully he'll stay in the job.
"I've heard all these rumours going around about West Ham but to be honest I haven't had any conversations with them at all so I don't know where it's coming from."