Sir Alex Ferguson feels Martin Jol is probably relieved his tortuous time as manager of Tottenham Hotspur has finally come to an end.

Ferguson interviewed Jol for a job as his assistant at Manchester United, having been impressed by the work he had done in his native Holland at RKC Waalwijk.

In the end, the return of Carlos Queiroz from Real Madrid meant Jol’s services were not required but Ferguson has continued to watch the former Dutch international’s career develop at White Hart Lane and was as saddened as anybody when Jol’s exit was confirmed last night.

However, having been subjected to the “drip, drip, drip effect” of speculation over his tenure, Ferguson feels his old rival might be glad it is all over.

“Martin has great qualities,” said Ferguson. “He is a decent man who has showed his integrity but he is probably relieved it is all over.

“I don’t know the full ins and outs but we have all witnessed a drip, drip, drip effect right from the start of the season when there was talk of the people from Tottenham meeting the Seville coach [Juande Ramos].

“Whether it happened or not, it appeared in the press, so the press were continually on about the guy’s future. The media were not doing that out of malice. I am sure they were getting information, tittle-tattle and bits of rumour.

“That is enough to exacerbate it. But it cannot be healthy that every day Martin turns the paper over, his future is being discussed.”

While Ferguson believes Jol’s impressive CV will ensure he is not unemployed for long, the Scot, who celebrates an amazing 21 years in the Old Trafford hotseat next month, wonders whether Tottenham will feel any benefit.

“I have made the point many times that there is no evidence sacking a manager brings success,” he said.

“I always quote the case of Brian Clough. The longer he was at Nottingham Forest, the more control he got, the better it became for them.

“United have done well by me and I have responded by being successful for them. It is exactly the same with Arsene Wenger and Arsenal. You cannot think about Arsenal without Wenger.

“There seems to be a far less patient approach in football now but Arsene has been there 10 years and I have been here 21. I think you can see there have been rewards for both managers and clubs.”

Wenger himself was saddened by the decision of his north London rivals. “I think it’s sad,” he said. “It looked like he had no real chance any more of success. He had two very good seasons but he had a bad start this year. It’s hard to know what the reasons for that were but he was not given a chance to turn it around.

“I don’t know if we [Arsenal] are responsible for his demise. I felt he had done well twice in this League which is not easy because there are a lot of big clubs.

“It’s difficult to identify from outside what the reasons for that are. But it looks like he didn’t have the complete confidence from inside the club. And then it’s very difficult.”

Wenger raised his eyes to the heavens when it was put to him that three Premier League managers had bitten the dust before the end of October.

“Put the safety belt on!” he said. “I feel the pressure is getting greater and it is a concern.

“Somebody asked me if I think I’m one of the safest managers in the League and I replied no-one has found a machine yet to measure how safe you are. For me technical stability is very important.

“I know I’m second in the League behind Ferguson for longevity and I don’t think anyone will ever beat his record.”

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