Friedel: No. 1 shirt is mine to lose

Tottenham goalkeeper Brad Friedel has warned Hugo Lloris that he faces a fight to take the No. 1 jersey at White Hart Lane.

The highly rated Frenchman arrived in north London for 15 million pounds on transfer deadline day but has yet to make an appearance for his new club.

And Friedel's inspired form in a recent 1-1 draw with Norwich City caused manager Andre Villas-Boas to declare that the veteran remained first choice, a position that the 41-year-old is unwilling to relinquish.

"Right now I believe the shirt is mine to lose, I believe the manager came out and said that. If that's the case then great," he told Sky Sports.

"I will turn up every day and work as hard as I can. I will keep as fit as I possibly can, hopefully get selected to play and hopefully do as well as I can."

With Carlo Cudicini and Heurelho Gomes in reserve, Tottenham has four talented goalkeepers at the club but Friedel insists that he thrives on the challenge.

"It's great to have competition," he added. "Hugo Lloris is France's No. 1, he's going to want to play, I'm going to want to play, and so are Carlo and Heurelho."

The American also admits that he is fully aware that he arrived at the club as a temporary measure despite being top dog for now.

"When I signed for Tottenham, I signed as a stop-gap while Tottenham looked for a long-term goalkeeper. Tottenham deserve a long-term goalkeeper," he continued.

"I want to play, I've always wanted to play, I don't sign contracts not to play. However, I would never demean the manager by spitting my dummy out if I wasn't playing."

Friedel insists that he views Lloris as a teammate and not a competitor.

"It is a difficult position to have four goalkeepers of our quality at the club," he said. "Saying that, hopefully there'll be 50-odd games to play this season, which is a lot of games to go around."