Comolli springs to Robinson defence

DAMIEN COMOLLI insists Paul Robinson’s future at Tottenham will not be affected by his criticisms of the club’s pursuit of their new manager Juande Ramos.

The England goalkeeper surprised club officials earlier this season by expressing disappointment at how Martin Jol had been undermined in the first week of the campaign when details emerged of a meeting between Spurs officials and Ramos at the Alfonso XIII hotel in Seville.

Ramos has since taken over from Jol and there were suggestions chairman Daniel Levy remained upset at his goalkeeper’s comments, although Comolli, the club’s sporting director, insists that is not the case.

“To suggest that Paul would be transfer-listed for something he said and that he has fallen out with the chairman as a result is utter nonsense,” said Comolli.

“Firstly, there was no row to talk about and Paul went out of his way to clarify his position immediately after, and secondly something of this nature would never affect a player’s future at this club.”

Robinson has suffered a dip in form and has been guilty of a series of mistakes in Spurs’ abysmal start to the season, leading to the club being linked with the likes of Manuel Neuer at Schalke and Samir Handanovic of Udinese.

Comolli, though, issued a statement to clarify that the 28-year-old’s relationship with Levy has no bearing on his future.

“Normally we don’t wish to react to such stories concerning the club or our players but there are occasions when we believe it is right to set the record straight, and this is one of them,” he said.

Meanwhile, Jol has revealed his hope of one day returning to manage Tottenham, despite the acrimonious nature of his departure.

“I’m a fighter. I still have the feeling that you never know,” he said. “I was thinking of Ottmar Hitzfeld. He left (Bayern Munich]), waited two-and-a-half years, returned. In football it’s all about circumstances, opportunities."