Tottenham boss Juande Ramos insists he was never in line for the Manchester City job.

Spurs face City tomorrow and Ramos said: "I was never close to going to Manchester City. I never had a direct meeting.

"Those who deal with these things knew more about it than I did."

The clash sees Spurs striker Dimitar Berbatov face his Bulgaria team-mate Martin Petrov, who was linked with a move to White Hart Lane in the summer before moving to City and making an instant impact.

One the reasons suggested for Spurs' failure to land Petrov's signature was the winger's age, which is at odds with Spurs' tendency to buy young talent.

Ramos faced Petrov in La Liga, but he said: "I didn't know Tottenham wanted Petrov in the summer."