TOTTENHAM manager Andre Villas-Boas was pleased to see Emmanuel Adebayor get his name on the scoresheet in the 3-1 win over Reading, but refused to rule out the possibility of losing the striker to the African Nations Cup.

Adebayor scored Spurs’ second goal as they recovered from an early Pavel Pogrebnyak header to secure a victory that takes them above Chelsea and into third place in the Premier League.

Tottenham skipper Michael Dawson levelled for the hosts with Clint Dempsey’s deflected effort sealing the points late on, but it was Adebayor’s goal after 51 minutes that stood out for Villas-Boas.

‘‘It was important for him today to score,’’ he said. ‘‘He had a couple of situations recently against Sunderland and Villa, it was important for him to get back into the goals.

‘‘Strikers live off goals, it was important for him to score. You see him trying like Jermain Defoe, Clint, and how decisive he is also.

‘‘They want to get in the box, they breathe off scoring goals and it will give him a boost for sure.’’ It was widely believed that Adebayor would stay at White Hart Lane as opposed to linking up with Togo ahead of the forthcoming African Nations Cup.

But Villas-Boas said he was still unsure over whether he would lose the striker in a fortnight’s time and that the decision lies with the player.

‘‘It’s a vulnerable situation, anything can happen,’’ he said. ‘‘I’ve told you the player can still go, I understand it is still a possibility.

‘‘It was always his choice, I’m not going to put pressure on him. We’ve left it to player to decide. If player wants to go, we respect the African Nations Cup.’’