Ramos' hopes of three UEFA Cup wins in a row in tatters as PSV claim White Hart Lane victory

A nightmare debut for January signing Gilberto resulted in the visitors being gifted a 34th-minute winner courtesy of Peru international Jefferson Farfan — consigning Spurs to only their third home European defeat in the past 59 outings.

Ramos will now need to invoke all of his UEFA Cup magic if he is to steer his new side to their second quarter-final in the competition in as many years, his previous club Sevilla having dispensed with Spurs at the same stage last season on the way to winning the trophy for the second successive time.

The Spaniard certainly does not view it as impossible, having engineered comebacks with Sevilla against such as Shakhtar Donesk and Lille, but he was brutally honest about how much of an improvement will be needed against a side of the quality of PSV.

"The barometer is very low. We want to continue in this competition. After tonight's game it is going to be very, very difficult. It is clear that we're going to have to improve our performance so much in the second leg. They played better than us tonight."

Ramos chose to park the bus, quite literally, after ruling out a victory parade to celebrate Tottenham's impressive Carling Cup Final win over Chelsea.

His preference had been to delay such festivities until he has led Spurs to UEFA cup glory at The City of Manchester Stadium in May.

But unless there is a vastly improved performance in Holland, the Carling Cup — paraded by Chris Gunter and Gareth Bale before kick-off — will be the only trophy Spurs fans see this season.

Ramos's desire to leave the partying until the end of the season was understandable given the 4-1 drubbing at the hands of Birmingham on Saturday.

The absence of Jonathan Woodgate and Ledley King did not help their cause, but the central defensive pairing were back at the heart of Tottenham's back four, with England coach Fabio Capello looking on.

There was also a debut for full back Gilberto, who had been out with a calf problem since moving from Hertha Berlin for £2million.

But it was the inclusion of the off-the-pace Brazilian which was to prove extremely costly for Spurs, who rarely threatened in the opening half-hour — their only attempt on goal coming via a looping header from Woodgate on 18 minutes which was easily claimed by PSV keeper Gomes.

Gilberto then blotted his copy book for the first time, picking up a booking for bundling over Farfan, who got to his feet to fire a 25-yard free-kick which skimmed the wall. But worse was to follow and this time Farfan profited fully.

After several abortive attempts to clear their lines, Gilberto inexplicably tried to dribble the ball away from the edge of his box, only for Farfan to nick it from him before dispatching a right-foot shot that left Paul Robinson with no chance.

With the damage done, Spurs finally roused from their slumber.

Steed Malbranque had a shot deflected off Liverpool flop Jan Kromkamp for a corner. Malbranque then tested Gomes, volleying Dimitar Berbatov's deep cross goalwards at the far post.

Woodgate next sent another header wide before Robbie Keane carved out Tottenham's best chance on the stroke of half-time, bringing down a Robinson goal kick before spinning and firing in a shot that required a world-class save from Gomes.

Gilberto's debut was short-lived as Ramos brought on Jamie O'Hara at the break, although the manager chose to give his new signing the benefit of the doubt.

"I didn't substitute him because he made a mistake," he said. "He had been injured before and he hasn't got the rhythm yet to his game. He needs to play a lot more games to make his mark.

"Every footballer makes mistakes. We just have to support him and help him try to recover his best level. We're not going to blame him for the defeat."

O'Hara's inclusion added more security to Tottenham's back line, but it was in attack where inspiration was badly needed as both Berbatov and Keane struggled.

Matters took a turn for the worse when Jermaine Jenas was went off on a stretcher with a twisted ankle after an innocentlooking tangle with PSV midfielder Edison Mendez.

And try as they might, Spurs could do little to break down the wily European campaigners who looked more likely to add to their tally as the game wore on.

Indeed, were it not for a magnificent low save from Robinson to deny Farfan his second of the game with 15 minutes remaining, the tie could well have been over for Spurs, although Berbatov and Keane did manage to force decent stops from Gomes as they desperately sought an equaliser as the final whistle approached.

Ramos now knows a little bit more about his players. The pressure on his stuttering side has risen more than a few bars for next week's crucial second leg.

TOTTENHAM (4-4-2): Robinson 6, Chimbonda 6, Woodgate 6, King 6 (Taarabt 74), Gilberto 4 (O'Hara 46, 6), Lennon 5, Jenas 6 (Huddlestone 64, 6), Zokora, Malbranque 7, Berbatov 6, Keane 7. Booked: Gilberto, Chimbonda, Berbatov.

PSV (4-5-1): Gomes 7, Kromkamp 7, Marcellis 7, Salcido 6, Alcides 7, Culina 7, Simons 7, Mendez 7, Farfan 8 (Dzsudzsak 85), Koevermans 7 (Lazovic 78), Afellay 6 (Bakkal 90). Booked: Farfan.

Man of the match: Jefferson Farfan.

Referee: Stephane Lannoy (France).