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He remains the man for the big occasion.

And Jermain Defoe wants just one chance to erase the bitter memory of Lasagnegate - the last-day debacle six years ago that saw Spurs miss out on Champions League football.

Football's rumour mill blamed their failure on a dodgy Italian pre-match meal that laid a string of players low.

The England striker, now one of just two survivors still at White Hart Lane from the team back then, recalls how he was woken on the morning of the club’s final game of the season - a visit to West Ham.

Defoe said: “It was the club doctor, asking if I was alright. He said that there were seven or eight players who had been sick overnight with this bug and wanted to know if I was okay.

(Image: Getty)

“I couldn’t believe it. Such an important game and seven of the lads were sick. I still respect guys such as Michael Carrick, who went out and played even though he was struggling.

“Looking back, it felt as though we were not meant to qualify for the Champions League. Going into this game, there is a sense of wanting to put it right.”

Spurs famously fell at the final hurdle in 2006, losing 2-1 to the Hammers and allowing Arsenal, of all clubs, into the Champions League instead.

Defoe and co have, of course, been in Europe's top club competition since then, however, and they can give themselves a great chance of breaking in yet again if they beat Fulham at home on Sunday.

The striker is stunned by suggestions the 2005-2006 team bottled it.

He added: “I can’t believe it when people say that.

“How can you bottle it when you’ve got a prize like that in front of you? These are moments you play all your career for. It’s the kind of game you dream about when you are a kid.

"It feels like that now - like a final.”

Defoe is desperately hoping for to play in it, having spent most of the season watching from the sidelines.

The England frontman has started just three of Spurs' last 16 games.

Last Sunday, many Tottenham fans were left bewildered by his non-appearance in the 1-1 draw at Aston Villa.

Victory in the match would have seen Spurs leapfrog Arsenal to sit in third place going into this weekend’s final round of matches.

Defoe, who scrapped his summer holidays last year and instead spent the time working with fitness trainer Tiberius Darau, said: “In a way, it feels as though it has all been a waste.

“I wanted to give myself the best chance of breaking into the team and keeping my place. But I’ve just not had a chance.

"Last week, I was ready. I wanted to come on and score the winner. But again it didn’t happen.

"It breaks the spirit a bit.”

(Image: Getty)

A clutch of clubs will be queueing up to accommodate Defoe this summer - particularly given his confirmation that he asked boss Harry Redknapp to loan him out in January to keep his Euro 2012 dream alive.

He added: “I didn’t want to leave. I don’t go thinking, 'I want to go to this club or that club.' But in January I just wasn’t playing enough and I did go to the manager and ask to go out on loan.

“He said to me, ‘I don’t want you to go out on loan. We are trying to do something special here. Don’t go.’ And so I stayed. And I worked hard to keep myself sharp.

“But still I haven’t had that run of games. It still feels like I will only get a game if someone is injured or suspended.

"Sometimes I even feel like I’m in the youth team, because I know that, whatever I do in midweek, I won’t get a game at the weekend.

“The manager picks the team and I would never be disrespectful to the manager. But when someone doesn’t talk to you and explain what’s going on its hard.

“I love the club. Everybody knows that. When I’m out and people ask whether I am leaving I always say no. But how can I stay somewhere that I don’t get the chance to play?”

The silver lining for Defoe is that new England manager Roy Hodgson could still name him in next week’s provisional squad for the European Championship, because Wayne Rooney will be suspended for the first two group games following his red card against Montenegro last October.

(Image: Getty)

Defoe went on: “That is the one positive - if I do get the chance to go to the Euros, I will be fresh and ready.

"Coming on with a few minutes to go in every other Premier League game means I’m sharp.

“The manager [Hodgson] is a football man. Having been at a tournament before [taking Switzerland to USA 94], he will also know it's all about having people who can come in and get you a goal.

(Image: Ian Vogler / Daily Mirror)

“Other people may have done that in qualifiers but in big international tournaments - when the pressure is on to get a goal or go home - it is much harder.

"I’m hoping that, having done that before, I can do it again.”