Martin Jol can resemble a “dead man walking” with his languid, laid-back manner, but he put on a defiant front yesterday. The Tottenham Hotspur manager, apparently under fire from inside and outside the club, declared that if his support appears to be waning in the boardroom and in the stands, he retains the backing of his players.

Jol needs to be proved right. After the meek surrender in the 3-1 league defeat away to Newcastle United on Monday night, Tottenham take on Getafe, of Spain, in their first Uefa Cup group match at White Hart Lane this evening. Anything less than victory and the hangman’s noose could tighten.

“It has never been a problem with spirit,” Jol said yesterday. “All this has pulled us together. The only thing is that if you have been in this position for one, two or three weeks, it is not a problem. But we have been in it since the start of the season. I can’t say that this has never happened before in football but you have to admire that they [the players] are still fighting.

“I am used to all this talk now and I am fed up with you [the media]. But I will never be fed up with the team. You can be angry, they have to be angry, but we know the answers.”

The answers need to be forthcoming from Jol soon. Tottenham lie third from bottom in the Barclays Premier League and if the Uefa Cup may come as a welcome relief from his domestic troubles, speculation persists that he will be dismissed if his side lose at home to Blackburn Rovers on Sunday.

It has not helped that Jol appeared to be having a disagreement with Dimitar Berbatov, his leading striker, at St James’ Park.

The Bulgaria player was left out of the starting lineup and seemed not to heed Jol’s initial requests for him to warm up before being used as a second-half substitute.

Berbatov should start tonight, with Jol denying any difference of opinion. “There is no issue,” Jol said. “I always talk to him. If he’s not playing well and not scoring goals or if he’s playing well and scoring goals. I talked to him yesterday but it was nothing to do with Newcastle.”

After an unbeaten run of six matches, Jol was surprised by the lacklustre showing in the North East. At the moment, though, he believes that the answer lies in the detail rather than the bigger picture. Tottenham can score goals, but they are conceding them at an alarming rate. “People say that we are not playing well, but we have scored 26 goals,” he said.

“If we can keep scoring like that, we will be fine. But we have conceded more goals from deflected shots and shots outside the area than any other team. We have to block these. And we have conceded from free kicks, from corners, even throw-ins. We have to stop this. This is what we have told each other, this is what we have to do.”

Jol may be surviving because of a lack of a ready-made replacement. Tottenham’s chaotic pursuit of Juande Ramos, the Seville coach, has long gone cold and there is a distinct lack of other candidates available or willing to move to North London. Yet Jol has not felt the need to seek any further reassurances from Daniel Levy, the Tottenham chairman.

“I had dinner with him last week and we spoke before the [Newcastle] game but not after it,” Jol said. “Nine out of ten people told me that I spoke to him on the plane back.

“For a change, I didn’t, so that is probably more worrying.”

How they line up

Tottenham Hotspur (possible; 4-4-2): R Cerny – P Chimbonda, M Dawson, Y Kaboul, P Stalteri – A Lennon, J Jenas, T Huddlestone, S Malbranque – R Keane, D Berbatov.

Getafe (possible; 4-4-2): R Abbondanzieri – D Cortes, D Belenguer, D Diaz, L Licht – E Granero, R de la Red, J Casquero, P Nacho – Manu, B Kepa.

Referee: K Kircher (Germany).

Television: Live on ITV4 from 7pm (kick-off 7.45pm).