Freund bears no grudge

After that, Freund's fate was sealed. 'I didn't deserve to have games played like that with me,' he said. 'Glenn told me I could leave in January, two days before the end of the transfer deadline, but then changed his mind and apologised.

'He said he wanted to work with me for another year. But I went on holiday and nothing happened after that. I had no reason to talk to Glenn any more because I thought things were sorted but it was David Pleat and Daniel Levy who didn't offer me a contract. You will have to ask them why not, I can't answer that. There was no mistake on my part.'

Although Freund is happy his former team-mates have clawed their way out of the relegation zone, he believes the delay over announcing Hoddle's replacement has had a destabilising effect.

'There is a problem with having no manager because there are a lot of rumours,' he said. 'Players start to wonder about their own future. You could see there would be trouble this season because of the way we finished the last half of the previous year. There was something wrong.

'It was going to be difficult for Spurs, especially with everyone saying that Glenn would be sacked early. It is always difficult for a club to sack a manager after only six games because it is hard to find a new one. It is also difficult to find success in the same season after that. The new manager will have to think about keeping the best players and working with them rather than clearing out the old guard.'

If that man is the former Bayern Munich manager Giovanni Trapattoni, Freund predicts more potential pitfalls.

'Everyone knows his style of football is more defensive,' Freund said. 'His sides don't give the opposition much space and they're solid all the time. He's won titles everywhere he has been. But his football is not attractive. However, if you have success and don't play well then it is different. Liverpool didn't play attractive football a few years ago but won three cups in one season.'

But that's in the future. First comes Sunday. Freund remains disappointed he never scored while at Spurs. The celebration would have been worth the entrance fee alone. But if the unthinkable should happen on Sunday - and he scores for Leicester - then Freund maintains he will not gloat. He added: 'Should I score, I will not celebrate the goal. Les Ferdinand did the same last week at Newcastle against his old club and it was good to see.

'I know I am not the most creative player but the fans appreciate it if you give 100 per cent every game. That is what I've always tried to do. I can't wait for Sunday.'