Villas-Boas backs Popov card

Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas feels referee Mark Clattenburg made the right decision in dismissing Goran Popov in the 1-0 win over West Brom.

The Albion defender enraged his boss Steve Clarke when he was sent off for spitting on Tottenham right back Kyle Walker.

And Villas-Boas echoed Clarke's sentiments and praised Walker for not reacting to the incident.

He said: "It's difficult for the ref, but Popov did what he did and Walker did nothing to react.

"It's difficult to assess but I think Mark Clattenburg made the right decision. It's horrible and nasty."

Tottenham have collected four points from two away games at Norwich and West Bromwich in the space of four days, and Villas-Boas is delighted with the return.

"It has been a very important week for us," The Spurs manager added. "To get four points away from home, with not much time between the games, is excellent.



"We have put ourselves in a very good position to threaten for third place."

AVB: Fine won't stop racist chants

Andre Villas-Boas fears Lazio's fine for monkey chanting will not stop their fans doing the same again on Thursday when they host Tottenham at the Stadio Olimpico in the Europa League.



Lazio were last month fined £32,500 after UEFA found their fans guilty of chanting racist abuse towards Jermain Defoe, Andros Townsend and Aaron Lennon in September's 0-0 draw at White Hart Lane.



UEFA have been criticised in the past for their lenient punishments for racism and Villas-Boas told a press conference on Wednesday night: "UEFA decided to punish Lazio and rightly so. It doesn't mean that incidents won't happen again tomorrow."



He added: "I think the players are in the right frame of mind to leave the authorities to deal with those situations in case it happens. That's something that hopefully will not happen tomorrow."



Spurs defender Steven Caulker is all too aware of the fact that racism has reared its ugly head in the game once again this season. He played in the controversial goalless draw against the Italians in September and was also on the pitch when the England Under-21 team were subjected to monkey chanting in Serbia four weeks later.



Fans and players of the Rome club have been accused of an affiliation with right-wing politics in Italy in the past, but he hopes there will be no trouble in the Group J match in Rome.



"I'm not worried about the atmosphere - I hope football does the talking," the England centre-half said. "Italy is a great footballing country. Hopefully that will be the talking point tomorrow."



Spurs will progress to the knockout stages of the Europa League if they beat the Italian giants in the Eternal City. The Londoners have struggled so far in the competition, with their only win coming in their last game against Slovenian minnows Maribor.



A draw should still be enough to see Villas-Boas' men through, providing they beat Panathinaikos in the final group game in December. Villas-Boas, who won the Europa League two years ago with Porto, would like to wrap up qualification on Thursday, however.



"It's all about this game," the 35-year-old said. "It will be important for us to win and qualify. It will give the squad an important feeling of beating a great team away from home."

Dembele ruled out of derby

Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas says the north London derby against Arsenal has come too soon for Moussa Dembele to be considered.



The Belgian playmaker has missed Spurs' last eight matches with a niggling hip injury but had hoped to be fit in time for the Emirates Stadium clash.

Villas-Boas said he hoped the 25-year-old would not need surgery to rectify the problem but may still not be ready in time for next week's Europa League trip to Lazio.

But Villas-Boas said: "Dembele does not have a chance, not for this game. There is a 50% chance he will be back for the Lazio game.

"I think surgery at the moment is out of the question, hopefully."

Villas-Boas also gave updates on Jermain Defoe, Kyle Walker and Aaron Lennon, who all suffered hamstring injuries in last week's 2-1 defeat to Manchester City, with the latter most likely to be ready to face the Gunners.

"They haven't trained with the team yet. They have had lighter sessions on their own," Villas-Boas said of the trio.



"We will have to see today how they return to see if there's any disturbance. Lennon had a scan yesterday, and it's fine on his hamstring."

Villas-Boas content with draw

Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas was happy to settle for a Europa League point from the 1-1 draw at Maribor.

Group J remains wide open after Gylfi Sigurdsson's second-half strike cancelled out Robert Beric's opener for the Slovenians shortly before the break.

Villas-Boas said: "The second half was extremely good, the first half was not so good.

"We came back into the game, which is pleasant to see again and it is good for us to bounce back.

"It is obviously not the full result we wanted bearing in mind the draw between Lazio and Panathinaikos, but certainly we will take a point.

"The group is completely open. What we face now is two games at home and I think we are in a good position in the group.

"We are in third position. We have three games to play, there are nine points to play for.

"You see the group - it is very tight. It is not a group where the leader has run off with points."



Maribor manager Darko Milanic said: "We should have stopped the goal, but I'm very happy for my team. It's an important point that keeps us alive to advance to the next stage."

Villas-Boas aims jibe at Blues

Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas has slammed his former Chelsea stars, claiming his Spurs players are a better group to work with.



Villas-Boas was sacked by the Blues in March amid rumours that top players in the dressing room had forced him out.



And as Tottenham prepared for their pre-season friendly clash with Liverpool in Baltimore, Villas-Boas, who replaced Harry Redknapp at White Hart Lane, was quick to praise his new squad.



"From my perspective I've been adapting to the players," Villas-Boas said. "They are a great group who are enjoying what they are doing.



"I think the warmth of the group is excellent to see, and you know two different groups react differently. And we've that the spirit within this group has been fantastic - it's different from what I had in the last year."



Villas-Boas also said that Spurs had done nothing wrong with regards to Gareth Bale's Olympic absence.



Bale has not taken part in Team GB's campaign due to injury, but he has appeared for Spurs in a pre-season friendly. FIFA president Sepp Blatter said this week that the player could be banned were a complaint made, though the FA has no intention of doing so.



"I can understand the frustration for missing a player of Gareth's dimensions involved with Team GB, but everything was done as it should be," Villas-Boas said. "It was approved by the FA doctors regarding his injury, so for me it is the end of story.



"[Blatter] has decided to speak, maybe not knowing the full extent of the situation. They are unfortunate comments, but I can't make any more comment because he is the FIFA president."

Villas-Boas in Modric blast

Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas has criticised midfielder Luka Modric as rumours of a departure from the club intensify.



Modric tried to quit Spurs for Chelsea a year ago under the then management of Harry Redknapp, and this summer appears keen on a switch to Spanish champions Real Madrid.



Reports have suggested that the Croatia international has failed to travel with Spurs on the tour of America - something Villas-Boas has eluded to in the Spanish press on Sunday.



Speaking to AS, he is reported as saying: "I think Modric is wrong. This will go against him. He has worsened the situation with what he's doing and now the chairman (Daniel Levy) is very angry.



Andre Villas-Boas "I think Modric is wrong. He has worsened the situation with what he's doing."



"This is also not a good time for Daniel Levy, who is in the USA at the moment, because his wife is ill."



Villas-Boas also admitted Modric would be a major loss if he leaves Spurs.



"He's good, very good. I tried to sign him last summer for Chelsea. He will be a big loss. He's a player who can make the difference, who gives a lot of clarity to the play when the team needs it and who can play in several positions," he said.



Tottenham were unavailable for comment when contacted by Press Association Sport on Sunday morning.

Tottenham complete Sigurdsson deal

Tottenham Hotspur have completed the signing of Gylfi Sigurdsson less than 24 hours after appointing manager Andre Villas-Boas.



The Icelandic attacking midfielder joins from Hoffenheim for a fee of around £7 million, while Tottenham did not specify the length of his contract.



Sigurdsson spent the second half of last season on loan at Swansea City, who agreed a fee for the 22-year-old in May.



However, the move fell through after manager Brendan Rodgers left for Liverpool.



Villas-Boas was installed as head coach on Tuesday on a three-year deal, replacing Harry Redknapp.

Villas-Boas named as Spurs boss

Andre Villas-Boas has been confirmed as the new manager of Tottenham Hotspur.



The appointment comes four months after he was sacked by Chelsea - after only eight months of a three year contract following a dismal run - and a month after Harry Redknapp was dismissed by the club in June.



34 year old Villas-Boas was rumoured to be top of Spurs' chairman Daniel Levy's list as Redknapp's successor, ahead of France manager Laurent Blanc.



The Portuguese manager will now be in charge of creating a young Spurs side who will be expected to challenge for a top four position in the Premier League and in doing so qualify for the Champions League.



Before his unsucessful tenure at Chelsea, Villas-Boas, who once was assistant to Jose Mourinho, masterminded a quadruple of trophies at Porto in his first full season as a manager, leading his team in an unbeaten league campaign.

Villas-Boas backed for Spurs

Former Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas has emerged as the frontrunner to replace Harry Redknapp as Tottenham manager.



The Portugese coach is odds-on favourite with SkyBet after significant backing on Thursday evening, with White Hart Lane chiefs understood to have made initial contact.



Villas-Boas was sacked by Chelsea in February but is thought to be keen on a return to London.



Everton manager David Moyes and Wigan's Roberto Martinez are both strong candidates to replace Redknapp, who was sacked on Wednesday night, but both would bring compensation costs.



Latics chairman Dave Whelan has already said he will not stand in Martinez's way, should Spurs make an approach.



"If Tottenham come to me and ask to speak to him, I have to say the answer is 'yes'. It always is," Whelan said.



"You cannot stop managers moving. Every club that people regard as a big club, when these jobs come up, people say 'oh Roberto must be in for that'.



"But I have not heard one thing from Tottenham Hotspur or from Roberto, so as far as I am concerned there is nothing going on at present."