Fergie and Wenger speak out as pressure builds on Spurs boss

Spurs travel to Old Trafford on Sunday in a state of disarray after a week of farce at White Hart Lane.

Champions Manchester United have not won this season and will test the resolve of the visiting players who have been stunned by the events of the past seven days.

"Martin has an outstanding record in Holland where he worked with very meagre resources. He does not need me to tell him what a good job he has done.

"It has all been very sad and a knee-jerk reaction to Tottenham's bad start to the season. The chairman has said his full support is behind the manager and I just hope the support is right."

Wenger has accused Tottenham of "impatience" in heaping so much pressure on Jol.

The Arsenal manager admits he has viewed events at White Hart Lane this week only as an outsider but says it's far too early in the season for the Dutchman's job to come under

Ferguson said: "It is no secret that I interviewed Martin Jol for the position as my No2 when Carlos Queiroz left to go to Real Madrid as manager.

"Martin has an outstanding record in Holland where he worked with very meagre resources. He does not need me to tell him what a good job he has done.

"It has all been very sad and a knee-jerk reaction to Tottenham's bad start to the season. The chairman has said his full support is behind the manager and I just hope the support is right."

Wenger has accused Tottenham of "impatience" in heaping so much pressure on Jol.

The Arsenal manager admits he has viewed events at White Hart Lane this week only as an outsider but says it's far too early in the season for the Dutchman's job to come under threat.

His comments came after another day of mayhem at Tottenham. First, the club were forced to issue a statement insisting they did not want Fabio Capello to become their new manager after the Italian arrived on a day-trip to London.

Then, Levy gave Jol the dreaded vote of confidence, issuing a statement claiming the coach had his "100 per cent backing" and that the club did not have to finish in the top four for the manager to keep his job.

Paul Robinson also backtracked, on the club's website, less than 24 hours after castigating the board for undermining Jol and claimed that far from dividing the squad it had "made us stronger and we're all pulling in the same direction".

But that may not be enough to convince Dimitar Berbatov to stay at Spurs, with his agent Emil Dantchev saying "this situation is not a children's joke" after meeting Levy to discuss the striker's future.

Arsenal fans will be revelling in the soap opera as it takes more twists ahead of their Premier League meeting at White Hart Lane on 15 September.

But for Gunners boss Wenger, the situation is a sorry reflection of the "win at all costs" culture that now dominates the game in this country.

The Frenchman said: "You cannot decide that after two games. You are surprised. I'm not in the best position to make any comment on Tottenham but we are in a modern impatient world.

"I don't know what's happening inside the club. Frankly, it's not my responsibility. Tottenham are responsible for their decisions and we are responsible for our own. It's not proven that they were talking to another manager but I feel generally that two games is not a lot."

Jol will this afternoon face the media for the first time since it emerged that Spurs officials had met Juande Ramos in Seville before the Spaniard turned down the chance to move to White Hart Lane.

The Dutchman can take comfort from the fact that Capello is not angling for his job, at least not openly, with the Italian saying today: "At no time did I have any contact with Tottenham and I did not come over for the Tottenham job."

The job on Sunday will be to beat Manchester United at Old Trafford - a game Berbatov will probably miss with a groin injury.

For Arsenal, who face leaders Manchester City, Manuel Almunia returns in goal at the expense of Jens Lehmann, who aggravated an Achilles tendon injury against England on Wednesday night.