Dempsey happy to be back in action
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USA forward Clint Dempsey admits he is glad to be back training among a group after his stand-off with Fulham this season.
Having made his desire to leave the Cottagers clear, Dempsey had been spending a lot of time doing solo sessions over the past few weeks. The situation was brought to an end on Friday when the 29-year-old completed a move to Tottenham and he joined up with his US colleagues soon after ahead of the team's CONCACAF FIFA World Cup™ qualifying Group A double-header against Jamaica.
We just need to make sure we get the points because they're vital and we need to make sure we put ourselves in the driver's seat so that we qualify for the next round.
USA striker Clint Dempsey
The first of those games is in Kingston tomorrow and speaking about his preparation for the clash, Dempsey told www.ussoccer.com: "It was good. It was good to get back into the team, with the guys, and good for me to get back into training. I've been training with a trainer, but it's good for me to get back in playing with team-mates."
Following tomorrow's contest, the USA and Jamaica - who are currently joint-top of the group on four points from two matches each, with the former having a superior goal difference - meet again on Tuesday in Ohio. Contemplating those two games together, Dempsey said: "You could look at it as a play-off fixture in the sense that there is a home and an away leg.
"We just need to make sure we get the points because they're vital and we need to make sure we put ourselves in the driver's seat so that we qualify for the next round," he said.  "Everybody wants to be part of a World Cup and for some of these guys it'll be their last chance to do that. I think everybody here wants to do something special and playing in a World Cup is certainly that."