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Leeds United this afternoon revised their position over speculation that Gustavo Poyet, their assistant manager, was to quit Elland Road to take over a similar position at Tottenham Hotspur.
It had been thought that Poyet, the No 2 at Elland Road to Dennis Wise, was wanted by the north London side to be the assistant to Juande Ramos, who is believed to have accepted the job as manager after the sacking of Martin Jol and his assistant Chris Hughton last night.
The League One side had issued a statement this morning saying that there had been no contact from Spurs and that any such approach would be unwelcome.
This afternoon, however, that stance had changed, as Leeds issued a statement which said: "Leeds United and Gus Poyet have agreed that in the best interests of the team he will not be in attendance at Elland Road for tomorrow's [Saturday's] fixture against Millwall to allow the players to fully focus on the game without any distractions.
"The club captain, Alan Thompson, who is currently injured, will assist manager Dennis Wise from the bench at tomorrow's match."
Hans Segers, the Tottenham goalkeeping coach, was asked to resign this morning. Damien Comolli, the Tottenham sporting director, said: "Hans has been a committed and enthusiastic member of the coaching staff and we should like to thank him for his contribution and hard work."
Mark Hughes, meanwhile, has distanced himself from the Tottenham job. The Blackburn Rovers manager has been installed by bookmakers as second favourite for the role.
While not categorically dismissing the possibility, Hughes insisted his only focus was Rovers. He said: "I've seen my name a couple of times linked with it but I just view that as a reflection on the job myself and the staff are doing here, and the players are doing." He added: "My interest is solely in Blackburn Rovers."
Hughes believes Spurs have already decided on their next manager. "I would suggest any appointment that's to be made is obviously in place," he said.
Ironically, Blackburn's next game is at White Hart Lane on Sunday, and Hughes acknowledged the speculation was poorly timed. "It's an inconvenience when you're going up against the team that you're supposedly linked with," he said. "You can do without that."
Hughes said Jol paid the price for Spurs' poor start to the season, which yielded only one Barclays Premier League win from 10 games. "That's probably at the bottom of the reason why they felt they needed to make a change," Hughes said. "We're in a results business and I'm sure that Martin, if he was honest, would be disappointed with the return that they've been able to have given the games that they've played."
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As an Arsenal supporter I'm appalled at what has happened to Martin Jol. Personally I really loved what he did with the club. All Arsenal fans will miss him. ;-)
Mark Anderson, Fleet, Hants
Mickey Mouse club!
Johnny Boy, Copenhagen, Denmark
a shame good manager klinnsman should take over
kevin, london, essex
Martin Jol has been the greatest addition since jimmy greaves, gd luck to him and i dont blame him at all... daniel you hav got to GO! The Lane is full of passion not people who smirk and dont take their job seriously. Football is a sport not a business.
Joe E, Brentwood, Essex, England
As a life- long Spurs supporter /season ticket holder, I am absoluetly disgusted by the machinations of our Board of Directors.They have sunk to a new low in their treatment of Martin Jol and have heaped shame upon our club! Martin Jol has handled the situation with dignity and integrity- two words that are sadly lacking from Daniel Levy's vocabulary.
The team gave yet another lack lustre performance tonight and there should be a lot of soul searching by many of them for the part they have played in this debacle, which has resulted in the loss of the best manager we have had in years.
The rumours of Martin Jol's sacking/resignation (?)reverberated around the ground from half time onwards and I was pleased that the fans made it known to the Board and players alike that our loyality and appreciation lay with our manager. I wish him every success in the future and we will miss him - he deserved better!
Ann Ruggiero, Bromley, England
I am a season ticket holder (2) and live in NYC, my son used the tickets and I get to as many games as I can. I watch and look at the team differently now I am not there. We are a fragile team with fragile management and board, the team is reflective of the club, so from top to bottom responsibility has to be taken. At Spurs there just seems so many levels of management, it used to be the manager and assistant, he reported to the board, now it's coach, assistant, director of footbal (what is that?), directors for every concievable position, vice chairman and chairman, this doesn't include the money guy who lives abroad!! No othew club is so loaded, and the squad is huge, top teams need this but work with probably no more than 15 players over the season for 90% of the time, Spurs have legions of players, some of them will never get in the starting 11. This club needs a radical change at the top, it can then review it's position. The next manager will be gone in 2 years!!
Steve Breen, New York, New York, USA
Good ridance to a very poor manager.
Pat McGroin, County Claire,
I am a lifelong Spurs fan so i feel qualified to say this : having experienced the Scholar/Venables/Sugar era it seems ridiculous for a "lifelong" supporter such as Daniel Levy to repeat the mistakes of the past. If he is all about business and chooses not to listen to the passion of his customers (supporters), he has clearly done an awful job as acting CEO of the organisation. Levy should be sacked purely judged on business performance. Why is he the only "supporter" given the luxury of expressing his emotions to direct the club. There are plenty of well equipped CEOs out there to run THFC as a business. As for Martin Jol, i'd put him up there amongst our top 4 managers of all time for what he has achieved. I know that his departure will come back to haunt us, whether facing him in the Champions League in 2015 (if we ever get there) or due to the complete disarray the club is currently in. Just look at Kanoute as an example of Life after Spurs.
Robert, New York, USA
The media are as much to blame for Martin Jol's departure as the Tottenham board ( look at the way they pick the England team for the incompetent manager - too much to say ). But I still find it hard to take in the way Martin Jol has been treated. It's obvious that supporters opinions mean nothing when you see how much the Spurs fans were behind their manager. Money gone mad!
Brian Keenan, Liverpool, U.K.
In the modern game 'The Premiership' has become a ruthless bussiness driven by investment, ego`s, and lack of loyalty and respect.
To see Martin Jol and Chris Hughton treated in this manner is totally disrespectful. They have brought Spurs along way in the past two season`s and, now due to results which are not totally their fault, they have been given the door.
Isn`t it time 'The Player`s' took responsibilty for performances. How can these highly paid Professionals not get given the door for their efforts too!.
Chas, Innisfil, Canada/Ontario