Kurtzen
New Member
- Jan 13, 2006
- 822
- 0
Source: Daily Maybe/Mail
Avoid Relegation First - Ramos Delivers Reality Check to his Tottenham Players
Tottenham head coach Juande Ramos has told his players to wake up to the reality of a relegation battle.
Spurs were meant to be challenging for a Champions League place this season but with more than a third of the campaign gone they are a point above the drop zone in the Premier League.
There is still time for Ramos' men to mount a charge for Europe, although the Spaniard is aware that getting out of trouble at the wrong end of the table is the first objective.
"It's the reality," said Ramos. "At the moment we are closer to relegation than we are to the European places.
"So we're left with no alternative but to fight against this and get as many points as possible.
"And if we're capable of coming out of this situation we will think about something better. But at this moment this is the reality."
Under Martin Jol last season, Tottenham started poorly and recovered to record a second successive fifth-placed finish with arguably a weaker squad than Ramos has at his disposal.
The new boss has not been helped by a series of injuries in defence - and full-backs Pascal Chimbonda and Young-Pyo Lee picked up knocks against Anderlecht this week and will need to be assessed ahead of Sunday's clash against Manchester City. Robbie Keane also starts the first of a three-match domestic ban.
Adding the calamitous form of Younes Kaboul at centre-back, Spurs have been the equivalent of West Ham last season, a highly-fancied side who could not string results together.
"We have a lot of games still to go," said Didier Zokora, the midfielder who was preferred at centre-back to Kaboul for the Anderlecht match.
"I still see Tottenham as one of the best five teams in England.
"It only takes two or three wins and we will be in a good position.
"I can sense the confidence is coming back because we have the players. You just have to look at Robbie Keane, Dimitar Berbatov, Jermain Defoe, it is not normal for us to be down there.
"I look at the table and see us in 16th and just can't believe it."
Ramos has warned his players not to think they are too good for a relegation scrap.
"It's of massive importance that my players don't think they're too good to go down but concentrate on winning some games and then looking up the table," he said.
"Good results help players restore their confidence and from then on we will see if we're capable of doing something better.
"Let's get to mid-table first and then we will have to think about going a bit higher. But at this moment the situation is much more delicate than it seems. We are at the bottom of the table."
Spurs' opponents on Sunday at White Hart Lane have replaced them towards the top of the table as the team rubbing shoulders with the top four.
Ramos was initially linked with the job at Eastlands before Sven-Goran Eriksson took over but he insisted: "I was never close to going to Manchester City. I never had a direct meeting.
"Those who deal with these things knew more about it than I did."
The clash sees Spurs striker Dimitar Berbatov face his Bulgaria team-mate Martin Petrov, who was linked with a move to White Hart Lane in the summer before moving to City and making an instant impact.
One the reasons suggested for Spurs' failure to land Petrov's signature was the winger's age, which is at odds with Spurs' tendency to buy young talent. Ramos faced Petrov in La Liga, but he said: "I didn't know Tottenham wanted Petrov in the summer."
Avoid Relegation First - Ramos Delivers Reality Check to his Tottenham Players
Tottenham head coach Juande Ramos has told his players to wake up to the reality of a relegation battle.
Spurs were meant to be challenging for a Champions League place this season but with more than a third of the campaign gone they are a point above the drop zone in the Premier League.
There is still time for Ramos' men to mount a charge for Europe, although the Spaniard is aware that getting out of trouble at the wrong end of the table is the first objective.
"It's the reality," said Ramos. "At the moment we are closer to relegation than we are to the European places.
"So we're left with no alternative but to fight against this and get as many points as possible.
"And if we're capable of coming out of this situation we will think about something better. But at this moment this is the reality."
Under Martin Jol last season, Tottenham started poorly and recovered to record a second successive fifth-placed finish with arguably a weaker squad than Ramos has at his disposal.
The new boss has not been helped by a series of injuries in defence - and full-backs Pascal Chimbonda and Young-Pyo Lee picked up knocks against Anderlecht this week and will need to be assessed ahead of Sunday's clash against Manchester City. Robbie Keane also starts the first of a three-match domestic ban.
Adding the calamitous form of Younes Kaboul at centre-back, Spurs have been the equivalent of West Ham last season, a highly-fancied side who could not string results together.
"We have a lot of games still to go," said Didier Zokora, the midfielder who was preferred at centre-back to Kaboul for the Anderlecht match.
"I still see Tottenham as one of the best five teams in England.
"It only takes two or three wins and we will be in a good position.
"I can sense the confidence is coming back because we have the players. You just have to look at Robbie Keane, Dimitar Berbatov, Jermain Defoe, it is not normal for us to be down there.
"I look at the table and see us in 16th and just can't believe it."
Ramos has warned his players not to think they are too good for a relegation scrap.
"It's of massive importance that my players don't think they're too good to go down but concentrate on winning some games and then looking up the table," he said.
"Good results help players restore their confidence and from then on we will see if we're capable of doing something better.
"Let's get to mid-table first and then we will have to think about going a bit higher. But at this moment the situation is much more delicate than it seems. We are at the bottom of the table."
Spurs' opponents on Sunday at White Hart Lane have replaced them towards the top of the table as the team rubbing shoulders with the top four.
Ramos was initially linked with the job at Eastlands before Sven-Goran Eriksson took over but he insisted: "I was never close to going to Manchester City. I never had a direct meeting.
"Those who deal with these things knew more about it than I did."
The clash sees Spurs striker Dimitar Berbatov face his Bulgaria team-mate Martin Petrov, who was linked with a move to White Hart Lane in the summer before moving to City and making an instant impact.
One the reasons suggested for Spurs' failure to land Petrov's signature was the winger's age, which is at odds with Spurs' tendency to buy young talent. Ramos faced Petrov in La Liga, but he said: "I didn't know Tottenham wanted Petrov in the summer."