Emmanuel Adebayor says that he has come through a “dark moment” in his career and he is determined to complete his latest journey from zero to hero. The Tottenham Hotspur striker seems only to deal in the wildest of extremes and this season has been a personal trial for him, largely because of what he describes as “a lot of family issues”.

The 31-year-old was given compassionate leave by the club last December after a close relative fell seriously ill and he has also had to contend with a family rift, in which there have been accusations that his mother used witchcraft against him.

On the field, Adebayor has barely featured since the home defeat by Stoke City on 9 November, after which he gave a characteristically candid interview in which he said that Tottenham’s players were struggling under the pressure of a negative atmosphere at White Hart Lane. It was intended to serve as a rallying cry, to get everybody pulling in the right direction, but a section of the club’s support felt that he was being critical of them.

Adebayor was out through injury and illness towards the end of the first half of the season and when he was available again Mauricio Pochettino routinely omitted him from the squad. He pushed for a loan move at the end of January to West Ham United only for the Tottenham chairman, Daniel Levy, to block it. There is no love lost between the clubs at boardroom level.

Adebayor made a surprise return to the squad for Sunday’s 3-0 defeat at Manchester United, which dented Tottenham’s hopes of a Champions League finish. He was given the opportunity after Roberto Soldado suffered a knock and Pochettino brought him on for the final 11 minutes. It was his first appearance since 24 January and only his fourth since the Stoke game.

The Togolese says that he has remained professional and he is determined to do whatever he can over the final weeks of the season to help the team. It is clear, though, that what he has lived through has given him greater perspective.

“I went through a little bit of a dark moment in my career,” Adebayor says. “A lot of things went wrong. We are all human beings. We all go through a lot at certain times of our lives. I think I have learned from it. I went through a lot of family issues. But now it is behind me and I am back on the football pitch. I am very glad to be back.

“The transfer window is behind me and today I’m still at Tottenham so for me the most important thing is Tottenham and helping the team achieve our target, which is to finish in the top four. Can I play a part? Why not? I was part of the squad at Old Trafford. I am available. The manager has a choice to make and whenever I am selected I just have to help my team, show respect for them and respect for the club.”

Adebayor says he is not “21 years old any more” and that he looks at things differently these days. “I travelled to Europe to be a footballer and today I am a footballer,” he says. “Already, I am very glad because in my country, only God knows how many people would love to wear the Tottenham shirt and play for Tottenham. Whenever I have a chance to wake up and be alive, I always thank God for that and for me all the rest is a bonus.

“I’m a Togolese boy who has suffered a lot, and today I’m in Europe. My junior brother, my senior brother, my uncle – I think they would love to be in my position, being a footballer, being a striker for Tottenham. Trust me. Even just travelling with the team, a lot of my family members, a lot of my countrymen, would love to do that. For me, let me just enjoy it and embrace it.”

Adebayor was out in the cold at the beginning of last season under the former manager André Villas-Boas. But he was revived by Tim Sherwood, who took over from Villas-Boas in December 2013, and he finished the season strongly, with 14 goals in 24 games. Now, under Pochettino, Harry Kane has emerged as the first-choice striker, but Adebayor, who is under contract until May 2016, is philosophical about the situation.

“It’s quite hard [to be out of the team] but I’m very happy and pleased for Harry Kane,” he says. “He is a young lad that came out and, at the moment, I think he is the only one that can save our season, like I did last season. Two years ago it was Gareth Bale. In football we all have our moments. I just have to work hard, come back and play football. Football is a funny game. Today, you are zero; tomorrow, you are a hero. At the beginning of last season, everyone wanted me out. At the end of the season, they wanted me to stay. I just have to keep believing in myself, keep doing my thing.

“Harry can get the club into the top four. People are starting to get to know him and what he can do on the field but he is an intelligent lad. He is learning through his difficult moments as well. We all have a huge faith in him. Hopefully he will drag us out of the top seven and put us in the top four.”

Adebayor kept quiet after the fallout from his post-Stoke comments but now is willing to address the subject. “I don’t know if I have been punished [by being left out of the squad] or not,” he says. “But what I do know is that I’m myself, I’m being me and if something is strong, if I have to say it and correct the future for the club, I will do it.

“This club has given me the chance to play again in London and I’m so grateful. It’s obviously [been] misunderstood and people take it the wrong way – [but] maybe they should look at it in a positive way, sometimes. We are all in the same boat. Me and the fans are in the same boat. I have nothing against the fans. I always love the fans.”