Tottenham sports chief Damien Comolli denied the board demanded Champions League football from former manager Martin Jol.

At the unveiling of new coach Juande Ramos yesterday, Comolli said: "We just said we wanted to do as well as possible and do better, year on year.

"That's all. No one told Martin we had to achieve Champions League football."

That claim was made despite the Spurs board having released a statement on August 21 which read: "We want Champions League football. We, the board, owe it to the club and the supporters to constantly assess our position and performance and to ensure that we have the ability to operate and compete at that level."