AVB refuses to walk away but admits decision could be taken out of his hands

Andre Villas-Boas was adamant as, for the second time in recent weeks, he was forced to sift through the wreckage of a humiliating defeat that cast doubt on his ability to retain his job.

“I won’t resign and I’m not a quitter,” said the Portuguese when asked about his future. If the look on Daniel Levy’s face was anything to go by during yesterday’s capitulation at White Hart Lane, it seems increasingly likely Villas-Boas won’t have much say in the matter.

Tottenham’s cause this season is hardly doomed. Admittedly an impressive start has quickly tailed off and a goals for column that is dwarfed by Luis Suarez’s individual return — the Liverpool striker has scored 17 league goals while Villas-Boas’s squad have mustered just 15 altogether — is a significant worry. But Spurs still lie seventh, five points off the top four and, having qualified for the knockout stage of the Europa League, they face West Ham in the Capital One Cup quarter-final on Wednesday.