TOTTENHAM Hotspur duo Jon Obika and Andros Townsend view their loan spell at Yeovil Town as a way of continuing an already memorable season. The Spurs academy pair were among the first youngsters to catch the eye of first team boss Harry Redknapp when he succeeded Juande Ramos in the White Hart Lane hotseat earlier this season.

Obika's prolific goal-scoring record under the guidance of academy manager John McDermott and coach Alex Inglethorpe was rewarded with a substitute appearance in the UEFA Cup against NEC Nijmegen of Holland in November last year.

The 18 year old, who has been at Spurs since the age of 11, signed his first professional contract in January, before making his debut start at home to Shaktar Donetsk last month. Townsend, 17, joined the professional ranks at the same time as Obika and also featured as a substitute against the Ukrainian outfit.

The teenagers caught the eye of Glovers' boss Terry Skiverton in a reserve team match last week. The manager admitted he had to be quick following the final whistle to secure their signature, and handed them their Yeovil debuts on Saturday against MK Dons.

Both Obika and Townsend impressed with their ability and hunger and hope to continue with their fast development. Townsend, who has been at Spurs since the age of eight, said: "We are very excited. Hopefully we can come in and get a few games under our belts.

"I am a direct winger and quite quick, almost like an Aaron Lennon-type player. I am a left winger but can play occasionally on the right. "In pre-season I went with the first team on a tour to Spain, which was really good for the experience.

I have been trying to kick on, play well and now I have my chance here. "As a youngster I think it is essential to come out and play games, it is a good experience. I think we are prepared, we are getting to know the lads and we are all together.

"I think it (Coca-Cola League One) will be a good standard and teams will want to get the ball down on the deck. "I do not think it will be too dissimilar to what we have been used to because a lot of the players (at League One) have dropped out of the Premier League and know how to play. They will not just launch it, they will want to play good football."

Obika and Townsend join fellow Spurs academy player Danny Hutchins at Huish Park and Obika said having the left back around helps. "It makes it much easier for our first loan and the lads have been great as well," he said. "Coming out here I would like to get experience because I do feel as a young player you do need to come out to learn the trade.

"There will definitely be a lot of good experiences. We were told about Yeovil's position but we really wanted to come here because we have heard a lot about the club from our managers before we came here. "In academy football you do not get this kind of competitive action so this will definitely help. We are more excited than nervous and I cannot wait for the games."

Obika nearly had an instant impact on Saturday, displaying strength and skill to brush off his marker before calmly slotting past Dons' keeper Willy Gueret. However the attacker's wait for his first senior goal was put on hold as the effort was deemed offside.

Townsend also took little time to get among the action and it was his slick footwork that forced the foul that led to Yeovil's missed penalty. The loanees had already come through a players' initiation ceremony, each singing a song in front of their team mates after training last Thursday.

Skiverton said: "They are good characters and we put a little bit of pressure on them straight away by making them sing a song. "This will just freshen the squad up a little bit. We need numbers and the right type of characters so we are looking forward to seeing what they can do for us.

"We watched them during a reserve game between Tottenham and Chelsea and Townsend was up against a right back that is highly thought of at Chelsea, and gave him a torrid time.

"There were quite a lot of managers that were waiting to pick them up afterwards so I almost rugby-tackled Harry Redknapp on the way out to get to speak to him."