Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe insists there is no longer a rift with Juande Ramos - and getting picked as captain goes some way to prove it.The pair fell out after a training session less than a fortnight ago and head coach Ramos told Defoe he could leave, only to take back what he said.

Aston Villa have been linked with a move for the 25-year-old and there is still uncertainty over his future while a contract remains unsigned, but the striker insists he wants to stay.

He was also encouraged by Ramos giving him the skipper's armband in the Premier League victory over Sunderland.

"It is a gesture that says that he wants me to stay at this club and for me that is special," said Defoe.

"I have always said I want to stay and the fans have been great with me. More importantly I love the boys, they are a great bunch of lads and I believe we can do something special.

"People say things when they are upset. The gaffer pulled me aside the next day and said he didn't mean it. He was honest with me and said 'I want you to stay at this football club, get goals and we can achieve something special here'."

Defoe's opportunities have been limited by Robbie Keane's remarkable year; since the start of 2007 he has scored 34 goals for club and country.

Keane's strike against Sunderland, squirming under Craig Gordon in injury-time, was his 100th for Spurs.

Dimitar Berbatov is Ramos' favoured partner for Keane, while Darren Bent adds further competition for Defoe.

Ramos is likely to revert to the Berbatov-Keane partnership for the second leg of the Carling Cup semi-final against Arsenal on Tuesday, but Defoe has still been assured he is part of Spurs' future.

"He is a great manager with great ideas so that's good," said Defoe. "He is an honest guy. I asked him if I was part of it and he said I definitely was.

"There are four forwards here so obviously the competition is hard, but at the end of the day if you get a chance you have got to take it."

Within two minutes of kick-off Spurs were ahead through Aaron Lennon but they then wasted a raft of opportunities and Gordon's saves kept Sunderland in the game.

In the second half it was Spurs who were hanging on and Radek Cerny denied Sunderland an equaliser with saves that vindicated Ramos' decision to pick him ahead of Paul Robinson.

"The more he has played the better his form has been," Ramos said. "He had a great match."

Keane then latched onto Cerny's long clearance to bring up his century.

"I hope I'm young enough to get another 100 but I'm just looking to the next one," said the Spurs striker.

The 27-year-old had spells at Leeds, Inter Milan and Coventry before arriving at White Hart Lane but insists he is now settled.

"Spurs is my spiritual home - I must have said that a million times," he said.

"There was a reason why I was at a number of clubs when I was younger and a reason why I left them."

Sunderland boss Roy Keane took little consolation in the fact that his side came so close to earning a point.

"What matters in football is what goes on between the ears and if you start slow you have troubles," he said.

Keane hopes to bring new faces to the Stadium of Light before the end of the January window after suffering the blow of losing midfielder Kieran Richardson for three weeks to a hamstring injury picked up in training.

"Kieran was really getting his match sharpness back after a major setback with his back injury," Keane added.

"We seem to take one step forward and two back at the moment, whether that be football results or injuries. We're missing Grant (Leadbitter), he is out for two to three weeks with a broken

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