When Tottenham won the Carling Cup in February, fans expected it to provide the launch pad for an assault on the Premier League's elite, but former White Hart Lane idol Chris Waddle believes lifting the trophy may have done the club more harm than good.

Spurs face another of Waddle's old teams, Newcastle, at St James' Park tonight in what already looks like a season-defining match for two of the Premier League's most troubled clubs.

Spurs' victory over Chelsea at Wembley exactly seven months ago sent expectations soaring, but little has gone right for the club since that day.

They have won only four competitive games, strikers Robbie Keane and Dimitar Berbatov have been sold, and a £77million summer spending spree has yielded only two points from their first five Premier League matches, leaving Spurs bottom of the table after their worst start to a campaign since 1955.

But Waddle, who scored 38 goals in 176 games for Spurs from 1985-89, says the Carling Cup triumph raised hopes to an unrealistic level.

With sporting director Damien Comolli under intense scrutiny following Spurs' summer transfer dealings, Waddle also called for manager Juande Ramos to be given full control of which players are brought to the club.

The former England winger told Standard Sport: "The Carling Cup came too soon for Spurs, because it meant that expectations grew out of proportion.

"Spurs have always been a great cup side, but the fans see other teams challenging for the title or a Champions League place, and think that is where Spurs should be.

"Cup competitions are the best bet for both these clubs. It is not easy to get into the top four, and this is Juande Ramos' first full season. He should be judged at the end of it.

"You can see Spurs being a very strong club in the League, one day. But I hope that the chairman Daniel Levy sticks with Ramos. It is very important he stays.

"You cannot have players coming into the club who Ramos does not want. You do not want to be a puppet, so he should be in charge of team selection and player recruitment."

It is not just a poor start to the season which links Newcastle and Spurs. Both clubs employ a European-style management structure which means the coach does not have sole control of transfer policy.

Kevin Keegan walked out of Newcastle because player recruitment had been taken out of his hands, and Spurs assistant manager Gus Poyet was strongly linked with the post.

Poyet was tipped to be Keegan's successor because of his friendship with Newcastle football director Dennis Wise, but he is also close to the club's vice-president Tony Jimenez, whom he counts as one of his best friends in the English game.

Indeed, before taking up his post at Newcastle, Jimenez played a part in bringing Ramos and Poyet to White Hart Lane last autumn.

But with Poyet staying at White Hart Lane, there will still be a Tottenham influence in the home dug-out in the form of ex-Spurs defender Chris Hughton, who is in temporary charge on Tyneside.

Hughton spent 13 years as a player and 14 as a coach at Spurs, and had been No2 to Ramos' predecessor Martin Jol before he was sacked along with the Dutchman last October.

Hughton has been in charge of first-team affairs since Keegan left Newcastle, with the club's hugely unpopular owner Mike Ashley desperate to sell up after seeing the fans turn on him since Keegan departed.

Hughton was working alongside Jol when Spurs signed Jermaine Jenas from the Magpies three years ago, and the England midfielder admits he has been surprised by Tottenham's lack of progress since their Carling Cup win.

Jenas said: "The Carling Cup was a benchmark for us, and we wanted to take that into the new season, but it hasn't happened. We definitely didn't envisage being bottom of the League after five games.

"Some very influential players have left, like Keane and Berbatov, but it is a matter of us gelling. Going forward, we just don't seem to be clicking.

"Newcastle will be looking to put things right, but things aren't exactly as we would like them to be on the pitch, so we want to do the same."