Jonathan Woodgate today piled the pressure on Juande Ramos by describing Tottenham as rudderless.

In an amazing admission, the defender questioned his team's professionalism and commitment after they lost 2-0 at Udinese in the UEFA Cup, their seventh defeat in 12 games. And in another blow to Spurs morale, Premier League chief executive Richard Scuadmore said today the club's plight was good for the competition.

They face a crucial test at home to Bolton on Sunday with manager Ramos's job on the line and Woodgate admitting they could go down, just as his former club Leeds did in 2004.

Asked in a post-match interview if Spurs were rudderless, Woodgate said: "At the moment, we are. We go on the pitch and if we're not producing and, if we're not getting the wins, pressure is going to get put on the manager.

"But it is the players who should shoulder the blame because we're not pulling our weight on the pitch. We must give each other a good kick up the a**e.

"You aren't too good to go down, believe me. I've seen it before at Leeds, and Leeds had a better team than we have now. They went down eventually so we really have got to roll up our sleeves without question."

Woodgate, who left Elland Road for Newcastle in January 2003 as Leeds started go into a freefall that ended in them dropping two divisions, went on: "Two points out of eight games, one million per cent we're in a battle. We're bottom of the Premier League with two points and it doesn't get much worse than that.

"The way we've been playing, we deserve to be bottom of the table."

Woodgate (below) could miss the Bolton game as he hurt his groin last night but hopes his team-mates get the message and claim their first League win of the campaign on Sunday.

"You should always give 100 per cent when you play, and at the moment, we' re not doing it," said the centrehalf. "Will we go down if we keep playing like this? Without a shadow of a doubt. We need to go away places and nick wins, even though we're not playing well.

"This hasn't happened yet because we're not concentrating properly - every single one of us. We have to start doing it properly.

"I am not singling anyone out, because it is every one of us. It is unprofessional if you can't concentrate for 90 minutes. The most frightening thing is that we are losing every game. Sometimes you can dig in and get a result, but we didn't dig in last night, and we didn't have the fight in us to get a win or a draw."

Spurs are enduring their worst start to a domestic season as they sit bottom of the League without a win from eight games. The pain could get even worse for the fans as Spurs travel to bitter rivals Arsenal next Wednesday and follow it with a home clash against Liverpool three days later.

But League boss Scudamore thinks the club's nightmare is great news for his competition.

Speaking at The Global Sports Summit in Marylebone, he said: "The Premier League has some unbelievable stories like Hull City the world had not heard of them until this season. And then you have got Tottenham Hotspur, who the world had heard of, at the bottom of the league.

"You also have the stories about Newcastle and Manchester City and I have not even mentioned the four teams who are usually at the top. That is keeping the interest levels going and what we have to keep going on the pitch."

Meanwhile, Sir Alex Ferguson is urging Spurs to stick with Ramos.

The Manchester United manager said: "I think you find when a manager has been at a club for a period of time, they put a mark on the club. You can't do that if the time's taken away from you.

"If the directors show a knee-jerk reaction to results then you're never going to get the continuity and management style a club need."