Jol: Spurs need English identity

Former Tottenham manager Martin Jol believes the club has lost its "English identity" since he was replaced by Juande Ramos a year ago.

The Dutchman was sacked by Spurs in October last year, but has since bounced back strongly by leading Hamburg to the top of the Bundesliga in Germany. In contrast, his previous employers currently sit bottom of the table following their worst start to a season since 1912.

"I believe if you work for an English club you need an English identity and I think that worked," Jol said in The Sun.

"We were developing young players and were in Europe every year. I had six players in England's squad.

"Now there are Corluka, Giovani, Pavlyuchenko, Gilberto, Modric and Spurs have a different philosophy.

"They've got players from abroad, that have changed the team's identity. Spending £18million on someone, £15m on another. Could you imagine that before? It would've seemed ridiculous."

Jol added: "They are so desperate to be a success it will be a disaster if they are not."