If Martin Jol is a dead man walking, then he continues to stride defiantly to his doom. The Dutchman said this week that no other manager could have bettered his successive fifth-place finishes for Tottenham Hotspur over the past two years and yesterday he claimed that the conjuring trick he has to perform at White Hart Lane is not required of his counterparts among the Barclays Premier League’s big four clubs.

Jol said Tottenham’s strategy – which he supports – of moulding raw talent rather than buying the finished product means he has to blood young players while also pursuing success.

Having heard of the club’s quest to seek a replacement for him, he doubtless hopes that his message is understood in the boardroom.

The manager’s summer signings included Younès Kaboul and Gareth Bale, young defenders who have been plunged into action in the Premier League, in which Tottenham sit third from bottom. “It’s not always about the scoreboard – it’s about the development of players like Kaboul and Bale,” Jol said.

“I have to combine the results with the development and even at Arsenal that is not the case. [Gaël] Clichy has been playing there for years, getting used to his role behind Ashley Cole. And then he comes into the team after a couple of years. For us it’s different. Because of [the long-term injury to] Ledley King we needed cover, so you could go for [Christian] Chivu, great player, or [Sylvain] Distin, but we went for Kaboul. It’s not easy, but we feel that in the longer term Kaboul will be a better player than those players. That is the philosophy – get them when they are young, get used to Spurs, get used to the Premiership, because we don’t take players like Chivu, or [Philippe] Mexès, or Distin.”

Tottenham’s matches this season have been awash with goals and Jol agreed that his attack is stronger than his defence. “Defensively there are question marks,” he said.