Robbie Keane is within sight of being crowned the Premier League's most prolific striker in 2007 - something he attributes to regular starts.The 27-year-old has 19 league goals this year and only Cristiano Ronaldo, who is two behind him, can realistically catch him with one match left in the calendar year for each team.

Keane started 2007 with a knee injury and has also served two suspensions, but when available has been preferred in attack by Martin Jol and Juande Ramos.

"I've been fortunate to be playing every week," said Keane. "For a striker, that is important for momentum. You see the benefits.

"It's just getting that run together and luckily for me I've played regularly in the last three years."

Keane's partnership with Dimitar Berbatov has seen opportunities limited for England strikers Jermain Defoe and Darren Bent.

Spurs want Defoe to sign a new contract as they fear losing him for nothing at the end of next season, and the 25-year-old has recently stated he wants to stay.

Bent has been linked with West Ham, who he turned down in the summer, but Spurs have been keen to stress they do not want the former Charlton striker to leave.

"They are very good, all four of them," said assistant boss Gus Poyet. "It's very difficult to play them all and you sometimes have to make decisions.

"The decision was Robbie and Berba against Fulham on Boxing Day but Jermain got 20 minutes and proved himself.

"We know what they can do and it's something nice for the manager.

"Sometimes, people do not like having too many good players. We do, because we have the option to pick the right one for every game."

Head coach Ramos, like his predecessor Jol, prefers the Keane-Berbatov axis, but has the option of changing his attack against Reading on Saturday.

Spaniard Ramos is refusing to underestimate the Royals. Jol gifted Steve Coppell a ready-made team talk when he said there must be problem if his team was losing to Reading - a quote that was pinned up on the Madejski Stadium dressing room wall.

But Ramos said: "We realise they are a good team and they are very competitive. Now we have to play them twice, this weekend and in the FA Cup. We have be very aware that they are good team."

Keane added: "Steve Coppell's done a fantastic job there and they are a tough side to beat.

"They went to West Ham on Boxing Day and got a draw with 10 men and that's not an easy place to go to, so they will come here with a lot of confidence.

"We'll worry about ourselves though and there is no doubt that if we play to our potential, we will get something out of the game."

Ramos' side will go 12th with a win but they also have cup commitments in January that could stretch the squad.

"We are managing to climb up the table little by little but our objective is still some way away," he said.

"Between the injured players we have got and the cup competitions that we are involved in, it's not easy to compete in all of this. But it is our obligation to try and do this."

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