Full-back Pascal Chimbonda thinks his move to Spurs from Wigan has helped him ‘step up’ a level.

“Moving to Tottenham helped me step up a level from Wigan, where I was struggling to win any international recognition,” said Chimbonda.

“It has always been a special dream of mine to play for France, but I wasn’t in the public eye enough when I was there.

“Wigan are not one of the bigger sides so as soon as I had the chance to move to Tottenham I jumped at it.”

He added: “I’m happy the way things have gone for me. I’ve been adopted by the fans straight away.

“Right from the first training session they started singing the song that the Wigan fans made up for me last season - that was a great start and things have just got better.

“The next aim for me is to help Tottenham win something and become a regular in the France squad.”