The last time Robbie Keane acted petulantly, three years ago when he stormed down a tunnel at St Andrew’s in protest at being substituted, he was fined and warned about his conduct. It is unlikely that Tottenham Hotspur will follow suit this time.

The forward left the pitch mouthing obscenities and hurled his tracksuit top to the floor when he was taken off during the 2-1 defeat by Manchester City on Sunday.

Keane’s reaction to being substituted is a reflection of his desire to play. He was equally angered when Martin Jol, the previous manager, took him off when Tottenham led Fulham 3-1 in September, only to concede a draw.

Keane trained yesterday and is expected to start against Chelsea tomorrow. “I treat everyone equally in the squad,” Juande Ramos, the Tottenham head coach, said. “And every player knows that they have a right to play as much as anyone else. We don’t give any special value or importance to conversations like that [speaking to the player about the incident]. I make changes depending on the requirements of each game and for the benefit of the team. If players want to get angry, it is not something I worry about.”

It was the seventh time in the past eight matches that Keane had either been substitute or substituted. He has 21 goals this season, making him the club’s top scorer. “From time to time you do need to give players a rest when they have played a lot of minutes,” Ramos said.

Darren Bent, who went on for Keane, has said that Chelsea will want revenge after losing to Tottenham in the Carling Cup final. “It will be a tough game and we don’t want the season to dip,” Bent said. “It will be interesting. They will be extra pumped-up.”

Bent has started only nine league matches and come on in the same number. This season, he has had a thigh and knee injury and last week he had a virus. “You obviously want to play more minutes on the pitch, but it is not happening,” Bent said. “I will keep plugging away. I will keep training and working hard and hopefully things will turn around.”