Clint Dempsey not 'valued' by Fulham before Spurs move

Tottenham's Clint Dempsey

Tottenham forward Clint Dempsey says he left Fulham in the summer because he did not feel appreciated by the club.

The American, 29, returns to Craven Cottage on Saturday for the first time since his £6m deadline-day move.

"If you always felt valued and appreciated enough, I don't think you'd ever leave," said Dempsey.

"But it came to a point for me where I didn't feel valued and appreciated, not by the fans, but by other situations. That's just the way things went."

Dempsey scored 50 goals in 184 league appearances for Fulham after joining them from American club New England Revolution in January 2007 for a reported £1.5m.

But his time at Craven Cottage came to an unsavoury end in the summer after manager Martin Jol claimed Dempsey said he no longer wanted to play for the club.

Liverpool expressed an interest in the USA international, who had a year left on his contract, but did not make a formal bid.

Fulham complained to the Premier League about the Merseyside club's pursuit of the player, who then moved to White Hart Lane shortly before the closure of the summer transfer window.

However, Dempsey insists he will only have good memories of his spell at Fulham, who he helped reach the Europa League final in 2010.

"It's unfortunate how things happened in the end but you look forward to going back and how you're received, you're received," he said.

"But no matter what, I'll always look back with good memories and be grateful for the club and the fans for the way they took care of me.

"The fans were great to me, the chairman was great to me and it got to the point where I wanted to keep going and try to further my career."