Former Tottenham fitness coach Marcos Alvarez believes the language barrier with Juande Ramos led to the Spaniard being replaced by Harry Redknapp.

He told El Pais: "Managing a dressing room in England depends on the quantity of English players that are in. It is even more difficult for a Spaniard to coach a team composed of many Englishmen because of specificities.

"The language barrier was a handicap at Tottenham, but we understood each other with some [players]."