Hoddle jumps to Gazza's defence

Glenn Hoddle today played down accusations that Paul Gascoigne was guilty of elbowing Tottenham's Norwegian midfielder Oyvind Leonhardsen.

Former Spurs hero Gascoigne and Leonhardsen had a running battle throughout Saturday's clash with Everton at White Hart Lane and although the Norwegian international was adamant Gazza should have been sent off for catching him in the face on two occasions, Hoddle told Standard Sport that neither incident was sufficiently serious to warrant further investigation.

The Tottenham manager said: "Gazza was no different to any other player on the pitch. They were all out there trying to win the game and players get frustrated at times. That went for our players as well as theirs. I certainly saw nothing untoward from him."

However, Leonhardsen insisted: "Gazza caught me in the face twice with his elbow. If the referee had seen either of them he would have been sent off as both were red card offences.

"It was painful and out of order. But I had caught him early in the game and we had a bit of a battle after that. I kept going for the ball in tackles but he was going for me.

"He was trying to get me and I think he lost his head for a time in the first half. But he calmed down after the break and apologised. It is typical of him."

Spurs striker Les Ferdinand will be fit enough to face Chelsea in Wednesday's second leg of their Worthington Cup semi-final after undergoing scans for concussion.

Ferdinand, who had given Spurs a fourth-minute lead against Everton with a header from Leonhardsen's cross, was substituted at half-time after a clash of heads. The scans are not thought to have revealed any serious damage.

Spurs trail 2-1 from the first leg at Stamford Bridge and Hoddle will include Ferdinand in his plans for Wednesday night unless there are strong objections from the medical experts.

Hoddle told Standard Sport: "It used to be that a whack on the head meant you could not play for two weeks which was ridiculous."