He can tame bulls so Tottenham players will be like pussycats to White Hart Lane fitness guru Alvarez

They were rewarded for losing to Blackburn in the last minute on Sunday with their first double training session for two months yesterday and this is just the start of things to come under new manager Juande Ramos and his trusted physical trainer from former club Sevilla.

Scroll down for more

Fran Rivera was fitness trained by Marcos Alvarez - so look out Tottenham!

Ramos has been hailed as an inspired choice since he was finally confirmed as Martin Jol's replacement at the weekend but the appointment of Alvarez could also prove to be a shrewd move.

The board have had concerns over the level of the players' fitness for some time and Alvarez, who has already expressed his shock at their poor condition to his friends back in Spain, is ready to make the running of the bulls at Pamplona seem like a relaxing exercise. For the 36-year-old not only played a major part in Sevilla's success over the past two years, he is also the man credited with the rise of one of Spain's top bullfighters.

Fran Rivera is one of the biggest celebrities in the sport and his personal trainer, as well as his close friend, is Alvarez.

How Rivera will cope without his training guru remains to be seen, but if Alvarez was able to get him fit enough to avoid a rampaging beast for a living then getting his new charges in shape to deal with the likes of Robbie Savage should be a doddle.

While the players are bound to feel the pain of over the next few weeks, they should feel the benefits in the long term — at least that's the theory.

Fitness fanatics: Ramos and Alvarez

Alvarez may have a warm personality once work is done for the day, but he is renowned as a real taskmaster on the training pitch.

Some of Sevilla's players didn't take too kindly to him at first and made up a joke picture with paper stuffed in his mouth so he couldn't instruct them to do any more running.

Alvarez had the last laugh as the improved fitness of the Sevilla players was highlighted as a major factor in the club's ability to challenge Real Madrid and Barcelona against the odds for the La Liga title and win two UEFA Cups in the past two seasons.

His relationship with Ramos is very strong and the duo have worked together for the past four years, having first linked up together at Malaga before both went to Sevilla in 2005.

Ramos has a very strong personality and while he possesses a dry sense of humour, he is seen as the severe one compared to Alvarez. The duo have a very good understanding and that is why Ramos saw his friend joining him at White Hart Lane as crucial to his chances of success.

Alvarez didn't hesitate when offered the role and is confident Ramos will deliver. He said: "I know a lot about Juande because I have spent such a long time working alongside him.

"He's a very good coach for many reasons. He's very serious about his work, he has very clear ideas, he likes his teams to attack, but he also doesn't like to concede goals.

"To coach in the Premier League is a dream for me and Spurs are one of the best teams in the country.

"This team has enough quality to improve their position in the Premier League table and we're certainly going to all work very hard to get back to the top."

He may find London some getting used to having spent most of his life living in the relaxed atmosphere of Seville, but his knowledge of English is believed to be better than Ramos's as he studied the language at university.

Before he was training famous bullfighters, Alvarez was a talented tennis player but didn't quite have the ability to make a name for himself on the world stage.

He may have gone from balls, to bulls and now back again but fitness is fitness whatever the sport. If the new man gets the players in the condition his pal Ramos requires, Tottenham's defensive record, as well as their league position, should improve sooner rather than later.