The Londoners gave Reid his big chance in the Barclays Premier League when they signed him for £4m from Nottingham Forest in January 2005.

But he spent just 17 months with Tottenham, quickly crossing London to join Charlton in August 2006.

His form at The Valley persuaded Roy Keane to bring his countryman to the Stadium of Light in January last year, and Reid feels a lot of water has gone under the bridge since his spell at White Hart Lane.

The 27-year-old said: "I don't think I've anything to prove to Spurs or the supporters there particularly.

"It seems like a million years ago that I played for Tottenham, so much has happened in my life and in football.

"Probably a lot of their fans won't even remember I played for them.

"The only people that I have to prove myself to are the manager, my team-mates and the supporters at this club because this is who I play for and anything else does not really matter."

Sunderland started their road trips last season with a 2-1 win at White Hart Lane but had to wait until mid-November for their next away triumph in the league.

Reid would love history to repeat itself tomorrow with the Black Cats searching for their first away victory since the opening day of the current season, when they won 1-0 at Bolton Wanderers.

He said: "It is very difficult to win away matches in the Premier League, any team will tell you that.

"It is up to us to turn that round. We have had some good away performances and we know we are capable of performing."

Harry Redknapp hopes to guide his club into a Champions League slot, but last weekend's 3-0 loss at Arsenal was an indication of how tough that will be.

Reid said: "It is difficult to get into the top four.

"There are a lot of really good teams up there, but there's no doubting Spurs have fantastic players."

Reid claimed his second goal of the season in last weekend's 2-2 home draw with West Ham United.

Other than Kenwyne Jones and eight-goal top scorer Darren Bent, Reid, Kieran Richardson and Michael Turner have been Sunderland's only marksmen this term.

He added: "I think we all need to contribute. We can't rely on Benty all the time."