Spurs 0 Hull 1

It may be White Hate Lane right now, but not everyone is turning on Juande Ramos. The embattled Tottenham manager's wife offered a reassuring arm around the shoulders as he left N17 last night, but it will need more than a hug to get him smiling again.

The chorus of boos that greeted Spurs' latest defeat was punctuated only by the travelling Hull fans' cheers and regular chants, directed towards Ramos, of you're getting sacked in the morning'.

Just two points from their opening seven Premier League matches — even Derby County had four points at the same stage of last season — mean Spurs have now made their worst start to a campaign for 96 years.

In that woeful 1912/13 season, they ended up finishing 17th and it is arguable whether Ramos would take finishing one place above the relegation zone if he was offered it tomorrow.

Although Spurs' performance against Hull was better than in recent matches, the signs, both on and off the pitch, remain worrying.

Sporting director Damien Comolli seems certain to be ousted before the end of the year, with former Chelsea manager Avram Grant and even Terry Venables both linked with the post over the weekend.

Ramos, who earns about £4million a year, remains convinced he can turn the situation around, but his body language in the technical area was that of a man who feels helpless.

His Hull counterpart Phil Brown barked orders at his players and frequently berated referee Rob Styles or the fourth official Darren Deadman, but Ramos was impassive throughout.

Spurs created chances — Gareth Bale and Jonathan Woodgate both hit the woodwork, while Darren Bent shot wide after being sent clear by Luka Modric — but their attacking play was more haphazard than precise.

It showed how desperate Ramos had become when England winger David Bentley was deployed at right-back after replacing Chris Gunter early in the second half.

And late in the game, Bentley was reduced to carrying the ball to the half-way line before launching it into the Hull box — hardly what the former Arsenal player envisaged being asked to do when he joined Spurs from Blackburn for £15m in the summer as part of a £77m transfer spree.

None of the big-name stars that Spurs lavished that cash upon could conjure a goal to cancel out the spectacular free-kick from Geovanni, who joined the Tigers on a free transfer after being released by Manchester City at the end of last season.

The Brazilian's 30-yard effort after nine minutes sealed Hull's second win in nine days in north London following their 2-1 victory at Arsenal last weekend.

For all their flaws, Spurs could easily have won this match. Roman Pavlyuchenko twice went close to equalising in the first half before Darren Bent squandered their best chance of the game when put in the clear by Luka Modric after the break.

Bent had started the game on the bench but came on after 35 minutes to replace Pavlyuchenko, who had sustained an ankle injury and will have a scan today.

If Pavlyuchenko is sidelined for a significant spell, Spurs will have to soldier on with just Bent and Campbell as their only strikers, which underlines once more the folly of allowing Dimitar Berbatov and Robbie Keane to leave the club without having their replacements in the bag.

Ramos said: “The problem for us at the moment is that the striking position is the weakest. With only two other strikers, it is difficult to change.

“When you do not score enough goals, it is difficult to win. The players are working very hard, but it is hard for us to score goals.

“If the team play as they did against Hull, a victory will arrive soon. The players' attitude is very positive, and I believe that they want to sort the situation out quickly.”