Tottenham poised to make quick swoop for Ramos

JUANDE RAMOS handed in his resignation as coach of Sevilla last night, paving the way for him to take over at Tottenham.

Ramos, who has been heavily linked with the vacant managerial position at White Hart Lane following the dismissal of Martin Jol on Thursday night, resigned from the La Liga club last night.

Sevilla physical trainer Marcos Alvarez also tendered his resignation at the same time.

Jol was sacked following the UEFA Cup defeat to Getafe at the end of a bizarre evening at White Hart Lane which has been described by League Managers’ Association chief executive John Barnwell as “extremely disturbing”.

The decision to sack Jol had already been made before the match and although the club insist he was only told after the game, the body language of the Dutchman suggested he knew it was his final evening as Spurs boss.

News had filtered through to fans during the 2-1 defeat and they sang in appreciation of the man who guided Spurs to consecutive fifth-placed finishes in his two full seasons at the club.

“It’s extremely disturbing,” said LMA chief Barnwell. “We’ve been having discussions with Martin for five or six weeks on his situation. I think he has handled himself extremely well under the extreme treatment.”

Jol’s assistant Chris Hughton was also dismissed and he has been in contact with the LMA, while goalkeeping coach Hans Segers has been asked to step down with immediate effect.

Jol is expected to take a few days’ holiday before considering his options. Spurs are less laid back about their own situation and Clive Allen’s appointment as caretaker for the Blackburn game tomorrow is seen as extremely short term, unlike when David Pleat took over for most of the 2003-04 season.

Chairman Daniel Levy is intent on getting Spurs into the Champions League although they are currently in the bottom three of the Barclays Premier League.

Despite Jol’s success, there were doubts over his tactical ability and also a noticeable change in demeanour when he returned this summer.

There were expectations of a top-four finish, with Arsenal looking vulnerable at the time, and there were questions at board level over whether Jol was the man to take them to the next level.

The doubts resulted in the infamous meeting with Spurs officials and Ramos at the Alfonso XIII hotel in Seville, which undermined Jol’s position at the club.

Ramos has an unblemished record at Sevilla after securing two straight UEFA Cup victories — they beat Spurs on the way to glory last season — and a place in the Champions League.

Ramos also has experience working with a sporting director at Sevilla, which he would be required to do at Spurs under Damien Comolli.