In fairness, Spurs may deserve a UEFA cup spot

Tottenham fans will be hoping lady luck smiles on them on 5 June.

It is then - at half-time during England's clash with Finland in the women's European Championships - that Spurs will discover if they are playing in Europe next season.

Despite finishing ninth in the Premiership, the club have been handed a UEFA Cup lifeline through the governing body's Fair Play wildcard system.

Three extra places are allocated in the competition on the basis of good behaviour and the draw for two of those slots will be held at the City of Manchester Stadium when Euro 2005 kicks off next month.

Tottenham finished second behind Arsenal in the Premiership's Fair Play table, but the Gunners' place in the Champions League means Martin Jol's side qualify as England's representatives.

Whether Spurs actually make the final draw - and how many teams they are up against - depends on the final European Fair Play table.

For all UEFA competition matches at club and national level since June 2004, a UEFA delegate has provided a Fair Play mark out of ten based on "cautions, dismissals, positive play, respect for opponents and the referee, the behaviour of team officials and supporters." These marks are then collated to produce the Fair Play table. The country that tops this table receives an extra UEFA Cup place for its best-behaved team, while all other nations that average a mark of more than eight out of ten are entered into a draw for two further slots.

The final table will not be published until later this month but the most recent figures - covering matches until 31 March - placed Norway on top with Denmark, Sweden, Estonia, England, Germany and France all above the eight-out-of-ten cut off point.

Should those standings remain unchanged, Spurs would have a 33 per cent chance of making it into the first qualifying round of the UEFA Cup.