SOCCER PREMIER LEAGUE Stoke City 2 Tottenham 1:JUANDE RAMOS cut a beleaguered figure as his Tottenham Hotspur team slumped to the worst start in the club's history yesterday with a 2-1 defeat at Stoke City, and he was left to hope that the chairman, Daniel Levy, would grant him a stay of execution.
The Spaniard said he "did not know" whether he had the backing of Levy, as he struggled to digest the events of another chaotic 90 minutes that saw Gareth Bale and the substitute Michael Dawson sent off and Vedran Corluka knocked unconscious and taken to hospital.
"This question (about backing) is for the chairman," Ramos said. "I speak with him when he permits. He is a busy man. I don't know (when) we will speak. This is my job and I am working each day very hard to turn it around. The responsibility is down to all the people at the club. It starts with me and finishes with the last person."
Tottenham have taken two points from their opening eight Premier League fixtures, they are bottom of the table and lie five points adrift. Only one club in Premier League history has avoided relegation after taking two or fewer points from their first eight matches: Southampton in the 1998-99 season.
"I am worried," said Ramos. "But this is football. Last season, we won the Carling Cup and everyone was happy. Now I am very sad. I don't like this situation."
Tottenham's next league game is at home to Bolton on Saturday, which has taken on the appearance of a must-win fixture. After that the domestic schedule appears daunting with Arsenal (away), Liverpool (home) and Manchester City (away).
But Ramos refused to accept that Bolton could make or break his Tottenham future and, pointing to the 1-1 away draw with Chelsea on August 31st, his best result of a torrid season, he argued that his team were capable of raising themselves against the bigger sides. "Playing against the bigger teams, the team is concentrated."
Tottenham appeared to have absorbed the blow of Bale's 17th-minute sending-off for a foul on Tom Soares inside the penalty area and Danny Higginbotham's subsequent conversion from the spot. They equalised in fortuitous fashion when Darren Bent stabbed home from an offside position and then enjoyed a 20-minute purple patch until half-time.
But Tony Pulis galvanised his Stoke team at the interval and they dominated the second half, showing greater appetite for the fight. Rory Delap scored what proved to be the winner.
Ramos had to walk past Tottenham fans to the tunnel at full time and they responded with applause.
"I just hope the club's board back him and give him the opportunity to turn it round," said Pulis. "It's now the board who have to show a bit of character."
Guardian Service
