Tottenham's Roca wary ahead of Man United match

LONDON, Feb 2 (Reuters) New Tottenham defender Ricardo Rocha said ahead of Sunday's home game against Manchester United he needs time to adjust to the pace of English football.

The Portugal international, who was signed from Benfica on January 23, said at a news conference today that he had learnt from his unhappy mid-week performance against Arsenal where Spurs were knocked out of the League Cup.

''It's very fast, you cannot rest, the game is all played at 100 per cent, it doesn't stop...it's unbelievable,'' said Rocha, who was signed for a reported 5 million euros (.5 million).

But manager Martin Jol feels the 28-year-old would soon adjust. ''He can cope with it - but it's a different pace, it's a different game,'' Jol said.

''He'll get some extra training, he came last week and I thought I had to start him somewhere.'' Jol was resolute ahead of Sunday's game despite news that defender Ledley King will be out for six to eight weeks with a stress injury to his foot.

''I think that we are more adventurous and we have more flair than last season,'' Jol said, batting away recent criticism of goalkeeper Paul Robinson.

''Paul knows that if you are a big tree, you will catch a lot of wind,'' he said.

Rocha, who played against United in the Champions League in December, said he was now facing a stronger team.

''This year they are very, very strong, it's difficult to beat them but we are playing at home.'' He added that he would be wary of Cristiano Ronaldo. ''He's unpredictable, he can do amazing things, he can go right, he can go left. It's difficult to stop him.'' Tottenham go into the game in 10th place in the league, 27 points behind leaders United.

REUTERS PDM KP2246