Berahino wants first Stoke start at third-placed Spurs

( Reuters) - Stoke City striker Saido Berahino has declared himself ready to make his first start for his new club when they travel to Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Sunday.

Berahino, who joined Stoke from West Bromwich Albion in January, has made two substitute appearances so far -- in the 1-1 draw with Everton on Feb. 1 and the 1-0 defeat by his former club three days later.

The 23-year-old, who made five appearances for West Brom this season before his transfer and has not scored a league goal for nearly a year, said he had been putting in extra work in training to be ready for the trip to third-placed Tottenham.

"I have been doing a lot of work with the group but also a lot, every day, away from them too, to make sure I am getting my levels right back up to where we want them to be," Berahino told the club website (www.stokecityfc.com).

"The extra work has finished now because I am in good condition, and now it is just about maintaining what I have and improving on that with minutes in the Premier League.

"I have already been used in a couple of games, which has been fantastic for me, but the next step is to try and start a game and then come through that too, hopefully having made a good impact."

Stoke are ninth in the table going into the weekend's fixtures, following their 1-0 win over struggling Crystal Palace in their last league outing.

(Reporting by Simon Jennings in Bengaluru; editing by Amlan Chakraborty)