Jol staggers on through Tottenham crisis

 The news on Wednesday, though, is that he is likely to continue, at least in the short term, but only because Spurs failed to land Juande Ramos, the Sevilla manager who has made little secret of his desire to manage in the Premiership.

 Ramos has been in dispute with Jose Maria del Nido, the Sevilla president, for some time, and is understood to be attracted by the autonomy enjoyed by English managers.

 He was close to replacing Stuart Pearce at Manchester City before Thaksin Shinawatra's takeover at the end of last season, and was keen on the Tottenham job.

 Spurs officials met him in Seville on Friday, but Ramos has been persuaded to see out the final year of his contract after Del Nido offered him an additional 1 million euros (1.35 million dollars) on top of his existing 1.2 million euros annual salary.

 "Juande Ramos will continue at Sevilla until June 2008 at least," Del Nido said. "He has confirmed to me that he is going to fulfil his contract.

 "With this statement, I hope to end once and for all the talk of our coach leaving, because he is not going to leave.

 "He looked me in the eyes and told me so and shook my hand.

 "His professionalism demands that he cannot leave the team in the lurch just three days from the start of the season."

   All of which leaves Spurs looking rather silly, and undermines Jol, who had spoken after Saturday's 4-0 Premiership victory over Derby of being driven to the end of his tether by the constant "whispers" about his position.

 After successive fifth-place finishes, expectations were high at White Hart Lane this summer, only for defeats to Sunderland and Everton in the opening two games of the season to puncture their hopes.

 Tottenham's response was to issue a statement on the club website.

 "We, the board, owe it to the club and the supporters to constantly assess our position and performance and to ensure that we have the ability to operate and compete at that level," it said.

 "We have made a massive investment in the squad and as a result we have the best squad of players this club has had for over 20 years and they are equally hungry for success and silverware.

 "For that we need our management and coaching standards to be of the highest quality such that players can fulfil their potential and we can compete with the best.

 "We have discussed all of these expectations with Martin and he has confirmed to me today that he feels he is equipped with a squad and a determination to take on that challenge."

   The statement also quoted Jol. "We had a full and frank conversation and I fully understand the ambitions of the club - they are the same as those of the supporters," he said.

 "He has put a lot of hard work into this club and, with the squad of players we have assembled, it is realistic that we should look to challenge for a top-four position and I have assured him and the board that that is what I shall aim for.

 "The last two seasons we have finished fifth and this season we start with an even better team. So we should be optimistic. Yes, it is pressure to deliver but that is what we managers should expect."

   Nonetheless, to be under this scrutiny three games into the season seems excessive.

DPA