ADAM Smith thanked Tottenham for giving him a solid Premier League grounding and then said he hoped to repay them by putting a spoke through their title hopes.

Smith tomorrow returns to White Hart Lane for the first time since Spurs sold him to Cherries for a knockdown £250,000 in January 2014.

The cultured 23-year-old defender has grown in stature this season, turning in a series of impressive displays as Cherries have found their feet in the top flight.

Since coming off the bench and scoring to spark Cherries’ revival in a 3-3 draw against Everton in November, Smith has started 16 consecutive league games.

His exploits at right-back have helped Eddie Howe’s team pull clear of the relegation zone, with Smith also netting in the 2-1 win at West Brom in December.

A county and district 1,500m champion as a schoolboy, Smith joined Spurs as a seven-year-old and graduated to the pro ranks after progressing through their much-vaunted Academy.

Capped 11 times by England under-21s during his stay with the North London club, Essex-born Smith also skippered Tottenham under-18s.

And with Mauricio Pochettino’s team desperate to maintain the heat on leaders Leicester, Smith and his team-mates will be out record a fourth win on the trot and avenge a heavy 5-1 defeat in October.

Smith told the Daily Echo: “It is going to be a tight race to the end and will be down to whoever can hold their nerve. The final few games will be nervous for everyone who is up there and, hopefully, we can take advantage of that against Spurs.

“It is nice to be going there with 38 points and we still have games to be won. We are looking up rather than down, which is a positive for us.

“The lads are pleased but the manager is keeping us grounded. We are still looking to get more points on the board and carry on the way we have been.

“It would be nice to get a win at White Hart Lane. All my family will be there and it was where I was brought up so is a game I have been looking forward to.

“I am not that much of a supporter now because I am more a supporter of myself. I still have friends there but there are no friends on the pitch so I will be looking to win.”

Smith has featured in every Premier League game except Cherries’ curtain-raiser against Aston Villa, having managed just six starts for the club in the Championship last season.

He added: “I didn’t start the season which I was disappointed about. But I got my chance and feel I have taken it. There is no looking back, I am only looking forward. It is nice to be having a good run in the team and, hopefully, it continues.

“I was brought up to play in the Premier League. From a young age at Spurs, that was the way they taught me. I feel I am better playing in the Premier League than in the Championship and find it easier.

“The Championship is very physical and is all long balls and headers. At Tottenham, it was very much about getting the ball on the floor and not in the air. Premier League teams pass the ball and that suits my style of play.”