As Tottenham Hotspur say goodbye to Martin Jol, they need to say just three words to Juande Ramos: now or never. That’s all. If the Seville coach tells them: “I’ll come in the summer,” they need to look elsewhere, because that isn’t soon enough or good enough.

No more indecision. There’s been enough of that since August. Tottenham need a manager right now. Too good to go down? Have you seen how they defend?

It is madness to put someone in temporary charge of this sinking ship until May. Who can guarantee that Tottenham will be in the top flight next season? Yes, they have the talent to stay up with ease, but that is not always enough. They need to use the January transfer window to buy some midfield players who can tackle and defenders who can defend.

And if Clive Allen and Gustavo Poyet, who are expected to be placed in charge for the moment, do really well? If Tottenham charge up the table, while Ramos’s Seville struggle, perhaps? The Spurs board could feel almost obliged to give them the permanent job.

But you only have to look at Newcastle United to see how that scenario can backfire. Glenn Roeder was the right man at the right time – but not for long.

If Ramos is smart, he will be on a plane to London today. The future is an illusion in this business. If Ramos has agreed to take charge of Spurs next season, he has fatally undermined himself in Spain. He’s a lame duck and there won’t be a nice neat farewell next summer. He faces a messy and undignified end, so he’s better off making a clean break.

However, with Seville second in their Champions League group, perhaps Ramos is dreaming of European glory. Maybe he wants to turn up at White Hart Lane once Seville are knocked out. If so, Tottenham need to have a bit of self-respect and look elsewhere. No club with any sense of pride should allow themselves to be dictated to in that way.

Apart from the next game, at home to Blackburn Rovers, the fixture list looks kind to Spurs until they face Arsenal just before Christmas. But any organised team will beat them because they are leaking goals and shedding confidence.

Yes, the board’s plotting damaged Jol and so harmed performances in turn. Given Jol’s clear achievements, the hierarchy were too eager to seize on his shortcomings. But that’s not the whole story. Tottenham have been full of faults that Jol was unwilling or unable to address. Younés Kaboul hasn’t got a clue how to defend, and that isn’t anything to do with the board knifing their manager in the back. Ledley King’s absence has been huge, Paul Robinson has not played like an England No 1 and Michael Dawson looks a shadow. Up front, it was over ambitious to go with four top-class strikers like the top teams. Good players will accept rotation only when they feel the side can win trophies. Dimitar Berbatov seems disillusioned.

It was obvious that Spurs needed to tighten up, but Jol persisted with a gung-ho style. Yet the quality in attack could not quite make up for the shortcomings at the back. It’s been a sorry saga of naivety from boardroom to dugout to pitch. And so, goodbye.