Aston Villa defender Wilfred Bouma has jumped to the defence of fellow Dutchman Martin Jol ahead of their clash tonight with Tottenham.

He said: "Martin had a reputation back in Holland for playing good football and that is what he is trying to do with Tottenham.

"He has done a good job since coming to England and has the players at Tottenham capable of breaking into the top four.

"You are always going to be under pressure and especially now because the results have not been going for him.

"But he is a good manager and one day I think he could be the Holland manager. People have talked about it a couple of times and maybe that is something for the future.

"For the short term, I think he is a man who wants to be involved with the boys every day and when you are Holland manager you get to see the boys only a few times a year - like any international boss.

"But it is a possibility that Martin could manager Holland."