Wenger sticks up for Ramos

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has stuck up for ousted Tottenham coach Juande Ramos. Spurs, the Gunners' biggest rivals, decided to replace the Spaniard with Harry Redknapp last weekend.

After a disappointing start to the season, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy decided to rid of all of his coaches and backroom staff.

"I don’t think he’d have been sacked if he had only arrived at Tottenham in July," the Arsenal manager said in The Sun. "But the fact is he arrived in the middle of last season and people were less patient with their league position.

"What sometimes happens in this league is when a team doesn’t go for Europe and wins the Carling Cup, they suddenly switch off.

"Without anyone noticing, slowly you lose results. And then, if you don’t start the next season well, which is what happened to Ramos, his environment slowly lost confidence in him.

"I am very surprised it didn’t work for Ramos and I feel sorry for him because I rate him as a coach and as a man," he said.

"It takes time to get your ideas through. I understand Tottenham have to make decisions but you would want anyone to be given more than eight or nine games."