Andre Villas-Boas: 'It was difficult for Brad Friedel to have his record run ended'

Tottenham Hotspur manager Andre Villas-Boas has revealed that goalkeeper Brad Friedel was disappointed to see his run of 310 consecutive Premier League appearances end earlier this month.

Summer signing Hugo Lloris was preferred to the 41-year-old for Spurs' clash with Aston Villa at White Hart Lane on October 7 that ended in a 2-0 victory for the hosts.

"We spoke about it before," Villas-Boas told ESPN. "In the end, it was difficult for him, not because of the consecutive run - he was looking good. It was not on performance that we made the switch, that's for sure.

"We had the opportunity to give Hugo a consecutive run of four games - including the two national team games like it happened.

"We are extremely happy about the fact we did. It gave him the first impact of Premier League football. But, as a great professional, he has to move on from that."

Tottenham are currently fifth in the Premier League table with 14 points from seven matches, five points behind leaders Chelsea.